The argument of this Psalm is the same with that of the former.
*Hallelujah.*
1. Praise God in his sanctuary : praise him in the firmament of his power. 2. Praise him in, his might; praise him for the plenitude of his greatness. 3. Praise him with sound of trumpet, fe297 praise him with psaltry and harp. 4. Praise him with timbrel fe298 and pipe, fe299 praise him upon chords, fe300 and the organ. fe301 5. Praise him upon cymbals of sound, praise him upon cymbals of jubilation fe302 6. Whatsoever breathes, let it praise God. Hallelujah.
1. Praise God in his sanctuary. This psalm in general commends the spiritual worship of God, which consists in sacrifices of praise. By the sanctuary there is little doubt that heaven is here meant, as is often the case elsewhere. The second clause is exegetical, for the same thing is repeated. But for sanctuary we read [yqr, rekia, that is, the expanse of heaven, to which is added the epithet of power, because there we have a proof of the matchless power of God, so that we cannot look to the heavens without being lost in admiration. As to the interpretation which some give — Praise God, ye angels who inhabit the heavens, and ye men who dwell under the firmament, it is forced and unnatural; for the Psalmist, in order to awaken men who grow languid in God’s praises, bids them lift their eyes towards the heavenly sanctuary. That the majesty of God may be duly reverenced, the Psalmist represents him as presiding on his throne in the heavens; and he enlarges upon the same truth in the second verse, celebrating his power and his greatness, which he had brought under our notice in the heavens, which are a mirror in which they may be seen. If we would have our minds kindled, then, to engage in this religious service, let us meditate upon his power and greatness, which will speedily dispel all such insensibility. Though our minds can never take in this immensity, the mere taste of it will deeply affect us. And God will not reject such praises as we offer according to our capacity.
3. Praise him with sound of trumpet. I do not insist upon the words in the Hebrew signifying the musical instruments; only let the reader remember that sundry different kinds are here mentioned, which were in use under the legal economy, the more forcibly to teach the children of God that they cannot apply themselves too diligently to the praises of God — as if he would enjoin them strenuously to bring to this service all their powers, and devote themselves wholly to it. Nor was it without reason that God under the law enjoined this multiplicity of songs, that he might lead men away from those vain and corrupt pleasures to which they are excessively addicted, to a holy and profitable joy. Our corrupt nature indulges in extraordinary liberties, many devising methods of gratification which are preposterous, while their highest satisfaction lies in suppressing all thoughts of God. This perverse disposition could only be corrected in the way of God’s retaining a weak and ignorant people under many restraints, and constant exercises. The Psalmist, therefore, in exhorting believers to pour forth all their joy in the praises of God, enumerates, one upon another, all the musical instruments which were then in use, and reminds them that they ought all to be consecrated to the worship of God.
6. Whatever breathes, etc. As the word hmçn, neshamah, means breath, or blowing, and whatever is animate, or breathes, the words may be extended to every kind of living creatures, as we have seen in the preceding psalms that the declaration of God’s praises is assigned even to things wanting intelligence. But as men exclusively are often meant under the name of “flesh,” so we may very well suppose that the words have reference here to men, who, although they have vital breath in common with the brute creation, obtain by way of distinction the name of breathing, as of living creatures. I am led to think this for the following reason: As yet the Psalmist has addressed himself in his exhortations to the people who were conversant with the ceremonies under the law, now he turns to men in general, tacitly intimating that a time was coming when the same songs, which were then only heard in Judea, would resound in every quarter of the globe. And in this prediction we have been joined in the same symphony with the Jews, that we may worship God with constant sacrifices of praise, until being gathered into the kingdom of heaven, we sing with elect angels an eternal hallelujah.
A NEW TRANSLATION OF
FF64
PART FIRST.
PSALM 1
l BLESSED is the man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly; And in the way of sinners doth not stand; And in the seat of scoffers doth not sit:
2 But in the law of the Lord is his delight; And in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree planted near rivers of waters, Which shall yield its fruit in its season, And whose leaf shall not fade; And all that he doeth shall prosper.
4 Not so the ungodly: But they are like the chaff, which scatter doth the wind.
5 Therefore shall not stand the ungodly in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For know doth Jehovah the way of the righteous; But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
PSALM 2
1 Why tumultuously rise do the Gentiles, And the peoples murmur in vain?
2 Confederated have the kings of the earth, And the princes have assembled together, Against Jehovah and against his Christ.
3 “Let us break asunder their bonds, “And cast away from us their yoke.”
4 He who dwelleth in heaven shall laugh; The Lord shall deride them.
5 Then shall he speak to them in his wrath, And in his hot displeasure he shall vex them.
6 “I have anointed my king, “Upon Zion, the mountain of my holiness.”
7 I will declare the decree: Jehovah hath said to me, “My Son art thou; I, this day, have begotten thee.
8 “Ask of me, and I will give thee the Gentiles for thy inheritance, “And for thy possession the uttermost parts of the earth.
9 “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron;” As the vessel of a potter thou shalt dash them in pieces.”
10 And now, O ye kings! understand; Be instructed, O ye judges of the earth!
11 Serve Jehovah with fear, Rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, And ye perish from the way, When shall be kindled in a short time his wrath. Blessed are all who trust in him.
PSALM 3
*A Psalm of David, when he fled from the face of Absalom his son*
1 O Lord! how are my oppressors multiplied! Many rise up against me,
2 Many say to my soul, “There is no help for him in God.” Selah.
3 And thou, O Jehovah! art a shield for me; My glory, and he that exalteth my head.
4 With my voice to the Lord have I cried, And he heard me from the mountain of his holiness. Selah.
5 I lay down and slept; I awaked, because the Lord sustains me.
6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, Who on all sides have set their camps against me.
7 Arise, O Lord l Save me, O my God! For thou hast smitten all my enemies upon the cheekbone; The teeth of the ungodly thou hast broken.
8 To the Lord belongeth salvation; Upon thy people is thy blessing. Selah.
PSALM 4
*To the Chief Musician on Neginoth. A Psalm of David*
1 When I cry, answer me, O God of my righteousness! In distress thou hast enlarged me; Have pity upon me, and hear my prayer.
2 O ye sons of men! how long my glory will ye try to put to shame? Will ye love vanity, will ye seek after lying? Selah.
3 But know that chosen hath Jehovah the merciful man for himself: Jehovah will hear when I cry unto him.
4 Tremble and ye shall not sin; Discourse in your heart upon your bed, and be silent. Selah.
5 Sacrifice the sacrifices of righteousness, And trust in the Lord.
6 Many say, “Who will show us good? “ Lift thou up on us the light of thy countenance, O Jehovah!
7 Thou hast given joy to my heart More than theirs in the time that their corn and their wine are increased.
8 In peace [as if] with a multitude I will sleep and take rest, ff65
For thou, O Jehovah! in safety hast placed me, [though] alone.
PSALM 5
*To the Chief. Musician upon Nehiloth. A Psalm of David*
1 My words do thou give ear to, O Jehovah! Attend to my speech.
2 Hearken to the voice of my cry, my King and my God! For to thee will I pray.
3 O Jehovah! in the morning do thou hear my voice; In the morning will I direct to thee and will watch.
4 For not a God taking pleasure in wickedness art thou; There shall not dwell with thee evil.
5 There shall not stand the foolish before thine eyes; Thou hatest all that commit iniquity.
6 Thou shalt destroy them that speak falsehood: The man of bloods and the deceitful man abominate shall Jehovah.
7 And I, in the multitude of thy mercy, will enter into thy house; I will worship in thy holy temple in thy fear.
8 O Jehovah! lead me in thy righteousness, because of my adversaries; Make straight before my face thy way.
9 For there is not in their mouth uprightness; Their inward part is deep depravity; A sepulcher that is open is their throat; With their tongues they deal deceitfully.
10 Cause them to err, O God! Let them fall from their counsels; In the multitude of their transgressions destroy them; For they have rebelled against thee.
11 And rejoice let all those who trust in thee, For ever let them exult; and cover thou them, And let those delight in thee that love thy name.
12 For thou shalt bless the righteous, O Jehovah! With thy good will as with a shield thou shalt encompass them.
PSALM 6
*To the Chief Musician on Neginoth, upon the Eighth. A Psalm of David*
1 O Jehovah! do not in thy anger rebuke me, And do not in thy wrath chastise me.
2 Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah! for I am weak; Heal me, O Jehovah! for affrighted are my bones.
3 And my soul is exceedingly afraid: And thou, O Jehovah! — how long? — 4 Return, O Lord! deliver my soul; Save me for the sake of thy mercy.
5 For there is not in death any remembrance of thee; In the grave who shall acknowledge thee?
6 I have become wearied with my groaning; I make to swim every night my bed; With my tears my couch I water.
7 Waxed dim for vexation hath mine eye; It hath become old among all my persecutors.
8 Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; For heard hath the Lord the voice of my weeping.
9 Heard hath the Lord my supplication; The Lord my prayer will receive.
10 Put to shame and confounded greatly be all my enemies; Let them turn back, and be ashamed suddenly.
PSALM 7
*Shiggaion of David, which he sung to Jehovah, upon the words* *of Cush the Benjamite*
1 O Jehovah, my God! in thee do I trust: Save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me:
2 Lest He seize, as a lion, upon my soul, And tear it in pieces while there is none to deliver it.
3 O Jehovah, my God! if I have done this, If there be iniquity in my hands, 4 If I have rewarded to him that was at peace with me evil, And have not delivered him that afflicted me without cause;
5 Pursue let the enemy my soul and take it, And let him cast down to the earth my life, And my glory in the dust let him hold down. Selah 6 Arise, O Jehovah! in thy anger; Lift up thyself against the fury of my enemies; And awake thou for me to the judgment which thou hast ordained.
7 And the congregation of peoples shall be round about thee: And on account of this, do thou on high return.
8 Jehovah shall judge the peoples: Judge me, O Jehovah! according to my righteousness, And according to the integrity which is in me.
9 Let come to an end, I pray, the malice of the wicked; And direct thou the righteous man: For he proves the hearts and the reins, the righteous God.
10 My shield is in God, Who saves the upright in heart.
11 God judgeth the righteous man, And him who despiseth God, daily.
12 If he turn not, his sword he will whet; His bow he hath bent, he hath made it ready.
13 And for it he hath prepared the instruments of death; He shall make fit his arrows for the persecutors.
14 Behold! he shall travail to bring forth iniquity, And he hath conceived wickedness, And he shall bring forth falsehood.
15 A pit he hath digged, and hollowed it out; And he hath fallen into the ditch which he hath made.
16 Return shall his wickedness upon his own head, And upon his own crown his violence shall descend.
17 I will praise Jehovah, according to his righteousness; And I will sing to the name of Jehovah, Most High.
PSALM 8
*To the chief Musician upon Hagittith. A Psalm of David*
1 O Jehovah, our Lord! How wonderful is thy name in all the earth, To set thy glory above the heavens!
2 Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings Thou hast founded thy strength, because of thy adversaries, To put to flight the enemy and the avenger.
3 When! see thy heavens, the works of thy fingers; The moon and the stars which thou hast arranged:
4 What is man that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him?
5 For thou hast made him lower a little than God, And with glory and honor thou hast crowned him.
6 Thou hast set him over the works of thy hands: All things thou hast put under his feet.
7 Sheep and oxen, all of them, And also the beasts of the fields;
8 The fowl of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, And whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
9 O Jehovah, our Lord! How wonderful is thy name in all the earth!
PSALM 9
*To the chief Musician upon Hagittith. Almuth Laben. A Psalm of David*
1 I will praise Jehovah with my whole heart; will recount all thy marvelous works.
2 I will rejoice and exult in thee; I will celebrate in Psalms thy name, O thou Most high!
3 When turned are my enemies backward, They fall and are put to flight at thy presence.
4 For thou hast maintained my judgment and my cause; Thou hast sat upon the throne a righteous judge.
5 Thou hast rebuked the heathen; Thou hast destroyed the ungodly; Their name thou hast blotted out for ever and ever.
6 O thou enemy! come to an end are desolations for ever; And cities thou hast destroyed; Perished has their memory with them.
7 And Jehovah for ever sitteth: His throne for judgment lie hath prepared.
8 And he shall judge the world in righteousness; He shall judge the peoples in rectitude.
9 And Jehovah will be a place of defense to the poor, And a protection in seasonable times in trouble.
10 And trust in thee shall those who know thy name: For thou forsakest not those who seek thee, O Jehovah!
11 Sing psalms to Jehovah, who dwelleth in Zion, Proclaim among the peoples his doings;
12 For in requiring blood, it lie hath remembered: He hath not forgotten the cry of the poor.
13 Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah! See my affliction from those who persecute me, O thou that liftest me up from the gates of death;
14 That I may recount all thy praises in the gates of the daughter of Zion; That I may exult in thy salvation.
15 Sunk are the heathen into the pit which they have made; In the net which they have hid taken are their own feet.
16 Known is Jehovah by executing judgment: In the work of his own hands the wicked is snared. Higgaion Selah.
17 Turned shall be the wicked into hell: All the nations that forget God.
18 For not for ever shall be forgotten the poor; The hope of the humble shall not perish for ever.
19 Arise, O Jehovah! let not man prevail: Let the heathen be judged in thy sight.
20 Put, O Jehovah! fear in them, That the heathen may know that mortal men they are. Selah.
PSALM 10
1 Why, O Jehovah! standest thou afar off? And winkest at seasonable times in trouble?
2 In his pride the ungodly doth persecute the poor; Let them be caught in the devices which they imagine.
3 For praise himself doth the ungodly on account of the desire of his own soul; And the violent man blesseth himself: He despiseth Jehovah.
4 The ungodly, in the pride of his countenance doth not inquire; All his devices say, “There is not a God.”
5 Prosperous are his ways at all times; High are thy judgments before him; At all his enemies he puffeth.
6 He saith in his heart, “I shall not be moved from generation to generation,” Because he is not in adversity, 7 Of cursing his mouth is full, and of deceit, and of malice: Under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
8 He will sit in the ensnaring places of the villages; In his lurking places will he murder the innocent: His eyes against the poor will take their aim.
9 He will lie in wait in secret, as a lion in his den; He will lie in wait to catch the poor; He will catch the poor by drawing him into his net.
10 He will crouch low, he will cast himself down; Then shall fall by his strengths an army of the afflicted.
11 He hath said in his heart, “Forgotten it hath God; “He hideth his face, that he may not see it for ever.”
12 Arise, O Jehovah, God! lift up thy hand: Do not forget the poor.
13 Why do the wicked despise God? He saith in his heart, “Thou wilt not require it.”
14 Thou hast seen it; For mischief and oppression thou considerest, That thou mayest take them into thy own hand: Upon thee shall the poor leave; To the orphan thou wilt be an helper.
15 Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man; Thou shalt seek his wickedness, and shalt not find it.
16 Jehovah is King for ever and ever; Perished are the heathen out of his land.
17 The desire of the needy thou hast heard, O Jehovah! Thou wilt direct their heart; Hear shall thine car:
18 That thou mayest judge the fatherless and the poor, That the man who is of earth may terrify no more.
PSALM 11
*To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David*
1 In Jehovah do I put my trust: How then say ye to my soul, “Flee ye into your mountain as a bird? “ 2 Surely behold! the ungodly shall bend the bow, They have made ready their arrows upon the string, shoot in secret at the upright in heart.
3 Truly, the foundations are destroyed: The righteous, what hath he done?
4 Jehovah is in the palace of his holiness; Jehovah in heaven hath his throne; His eyes behold, his eyelids consider the children of men.
5 Jehovah will approve the righteous man; But the ungodly and him who loveth iniquity, hate doth his soul.
6 He will rain upon the ungodly snares, Fire and brimstone, and a storm of whirlwinds: This is the portion of their cup.
7 For the righteous Jehovah loveth righteousness; His countenance approveth the upright.
PSALM 12
*To the Chief Musician upon the Eighth. A Psalm of David*
1 Save me, O Jehovah! for failed hath the merciful man, For wasted away are the faithful from among the children of men.
2 Deceit doth every one speak with his neighbor; With lips of flatteries, with a double heart do they speak.
3 Let Jehovah cut off all lips of flatteries, The tongue that great things doth speak:
4 Those who have said, “By our tongues we will be strengthened; “Our lips are our own; who is lord over us?”
5 “Because of the spoiling of the needy, “Because of the groaning of the poor, “Now will I arise,” say will Jehovah, “I will set in safety him for whom the wicked man layeth snares.”
6 The words of Jehovah are pure words; Silver melted in an excellent crucible of earth, purified seven times.
7 Thou, O Jehovah! wilt keep them; Thou wilt preserve him from this generation for ever.
8 On every side the ungodly walk; When they are exalted, reproach is to the children of men.
PSALM 13
*To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David*
1 How long, O Jehovah! wilt thou forget me for ever? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul? And have sorrow in my heart daily? How long exalted shall be my enemy over me?
3 Look upon me, answer me, O Jehovah, my God! Enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep in death;
4 Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed against him; “ And those who afflict me rejoice if I should fall.
5 But as for me, in thy goodness I trust; Exult shall my heart in thy salvation. I will sing to the Lord because he hath dealt bountifully with me.
PSALM 14
*To the Chief Musician. A Psalm Of David*
1 The fool hath said in his heart, “There is no God;” They have corrupted [all good order,] they have done abominable work. There is none that doeth good.
2 Jehovah from heaven looked down Upon the children of men, To see whether there were any that did understand, And seek after God.
3 Every one of them hath gone aside, Together putrid have they become: There is none that doeth good, not even one.
4 Have they no knowledge all these workers of iniquity? Who eat up my people as they eat bread. Upon the Lord they do not call.
5 There did they tremble with fear, For God is in the generation of the righteous.
6 The counsel of the poor ye deride, Because Jehovah is his hope.
7 Who shall give from Zion salvation to Israel? When turn back shall Jehovah the captivity of his people, Rejoice shall Jacob, and exult shall Israel.
PSALM 15
*A Psalm of David*
1 O Jehovah! who shall dwell in thy tabernacle? Who shall rest in the mountain of thy holiness?
2 He who walketh in integrity and doeth righteousness, And who speaketh truth in his heart, 3 He who detracteth not with his tongue, Who doeth not to his companion evil, And a calumnious report doth not raise up against his neighbor.
4 Despised in his eyes is the off cast; But those who fear the Lord he honoreth; When he hath sworn to his own hurt he doth not change.
5 His money he doth not put out to usury; And a present upon the innocent he doth not accept: He who doeth these things shall not be moved for ever.
PSALM 16
*Michtam. A Psalm Of David*
1 Keep me, O God! For in thee do I trust.
2 Thou shalt say to Jehovah, “My Lord thou art; “My well doing extendeth not to thee.”
3 To the saints who are on the earth, And to the excellent; all my delight is in them.
4 Multiplied shall be their sorrows who offer to a stranger; I will not taste their libations of blood, Nor will I take their names in my lips.
5 Jehovah is the portion of my inheritance, and of my cup; Thou maintainest my lot.
6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yea, an inheritance that is goodly hath fallen to me.
7 I will magnify Jehovah, who giveth me counsel; Even in the nights instruct me do my reins.
8 I have set Jehovah before me continually; Since he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
9 Therefore glad is my heart, rejoice doth my tongue; Also my flesh dwelleth in confidence.
10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in the grave; Nor wilt thou make thy Holy One to see the pit.
11 Thou wilt make known to me the way of life; Fullness of joy is in thy countenance; Pleasures are at thy right hand for evermore.
PSALM 17
*A Prayer of David*
1 Hear, O Jehovah! my righteousness; Attend to my cry; Hearken to my prayer, which is not in lips of deceit.
2 From the presence of thy countenance let my judgment go forth Let thine eyes behold uprightness.
3 Thou hast proved my heart; Thou hast visited it by night; Thou hast examined it, thou shalt not find any thing in it; My thought shall not pass beyond my mouth.
4 As for the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have taken heed of the ways of the destroyer.
5 Uphold my steps in thy paths, That my footsteps may not slide.
6 I have called upon thee, surely thou wilt hear me, O God! Incline thy ear to me, and hear my speech.
7 Make marvelous thy mercies, O thou Preserver of those who trust [in thee,] From those that exalt themselves against thy right hand.
8 Keep me as the apple, the daughter of the eye; In the shadow of thy wings hide me, 9 From the face of the ungodly who endeavor to destroy me — Of my enemies who in my soul besiege me.
10 In their own fat they have enclosed themselves; With their mouth they have spoken haughtily.
11 In our steps they have now encompassed me; eyes they have set to east down to the ground.
12 He is like a lion, he desireth to seize his prey, And like a lion’s whelp which lurketh in secret places.
13 Arise, O Jehovah! confront him, lay him prostrate; Deliver my soul from the ungodly man by thy sword 14 From men by thy hand, O Jehovah! — From men who are of long duration, Whose portion is in life, Whose belly thou fillets with thy secret, goods: Filled to the full are their children with them, And their residue they leave to their babes.
15 As for me in righteousness I shall behold thy face; I shall be satisfied when I shall awake with thy likeness.
PSALM 18
*To the Chief Musician. Of the servant of Jehovah, David, who spake to* *Jehovah the words of this song, in the day that Jehovah delivered him from* *the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. And he said,*
1 I will love thee, O Jehovah! my strength;
2 Jehovah my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; My God, my rock, I will hope in him: My shield and the horn of my salvation, my refuge.
3 Upon the praised Jehovah will I call; And from my enemies I shall be saved.
4 Encompassed me had the cords of death. The torrents of ungodliness had affrighted me.
5 The cords of the grave had encompassed me; Prevented me had the snares of death.
6 In my distress I called upon Jehovah, And to my God I cried: And he heard from his temple my voice, And my cry before him came, [even] into his ears.
7 Then shake and tremble did the earth; And the foundations of the mountains were troubled and shaken, Because he was wroth.
8 There ascended smoke out of his nostrils, And fire proceeding from his mouth consumed; Coals were kindled by it.
9 And he bowed the heavens and descended; And thick darkness was under his feet.
10 And he rode upon a cherub and flew; And was carried upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his hiding place; Round about him his pavilion was dark waters, And the clouds of the skies.
12 At the brightness which was before him his clouds passed away, [There were] hail-storm, and coals of fire.
13 And thunder in the heavens did Jehovah, And the Most High sent forth his voice; [There were] hailstorm and coals of fire.
14 And he sent out his army and scattered them; And lightnings he multiplied, and put them into confusion.
15 And seen were the abysses of the waters, And disclosed were the foundations of the world, At thy rebuke, O Jehovah! At the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.
16 He sent from on high, he took me; He drew me from waters great.
17 He delivered me from my enemy [that was] strong, And from my adversary; Because they were stronger than I.
18 They had prevented me in the day of my calamity; And Jehovah was a support for me.
19 And he brought me forth into a wide place; He rescued me because he wished well to me.
20 Rewarded me hath Jehovah according to my righteousness; According to the purity of my hands he hath repaid me;
21 Because I have kept the ways of Jehovah, And have not impiously departed from my God;
22 Because all his judgments I have had before me, And his statutes I have not removed from me.
23 And I have been upright with him, And have kept me from my iniquity.
24 And repaid me hath Jehovah according to my righteousness According to the purity of my hands before his eyes.
25 With the merciful thou wilt deal mercifully, With a man of uprightness thou wilt show thyself upright.
26 With the pure thou wilt be pure, And with the perverse thou wilt deal perversely.
27 For thou the afflicted people wilt save, And the haughty eyes thou wilt east down.
28 For thou shalt light my lamp, O Jehovah! My God shall enlighten my darkness.
29 For by thee I shall break through the wedge of a troop, And by my God I shall leap over a wall.
30 As for God perfect is his way; The word of Jehovah [is] refined; A shield is He to all who confide in him.
31 For who is God besides Jehovah? And who is strong except our God?
32 It is God who hath girded me with strength, And hath made perfect my way.
33 He maketh my feet like those of hinds, And upon my high places he hath set me.
34 He traineth my hands to the battle, And broken will be a bow of steel by my arms.
35 And thou hast given me the shield of thy salvation, And thy right hand hath sustained me, And thy clemency hath increased me.
36 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, And my ankles shall not totter.
37 I will pursue my enemies and will seize them; Nor will I return until I have consumed them.
38 I have afflicted them, and they were not able to rise; They have fallen under my feet.
39 Thou hast girded me with might for the battle; Thou hast bowed down my enemies under me.
40 And of my enemies thou hast given me the neck, And [as for] my haters I will destroy them.
41 They shall cry aloud, and there shall be no Savior for them; To Jehovah, but he shall not answer them.
42 And I will bruise them to powder as dust before the wind; As the mire of the streets I will tread upon them.
43 Thou shalt deliver me from the contentions of the people; Thou shalt make me head of the nations; A people whom I have not known shall serve me.
44 At the hearing of the ear they shall obey me; The children of strangers shall lie to me;
45 The children of strangers shall lose courage, And tremble from within their places of concealment.
46 Let Jehovah live and blessed be my strength, And let the God of my salvation be exalted:
47 The God who giveth vengeance for me, And subdueth peoples under me.
48 My deliverer from my enemies: Yea, from those who had risen up against me thou hast lifted me up: From the man of violence thou hast rescued me.
49 Therefore will I praise thee, O Jehovah! among the Gentiles, And to thy name will I sing.
50 Who worketh great deliverances for his king, And showeth mercy to his anointed, [even τό David, And to his seed for ever.
PSALM 19
*To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David*
1 The heavens recount the glory of God; And the works of his hands proclaim doth the expanse.
2 Day unto day poureth forth speech; And night unto night publisheth knowledge.
3 There is no speech and no language, Where is not heard their voice.
4 Through all the earth hath gone forth their writing, And to the extremity of the world their words: For the sun he hath set a tabernacle in them, 5 And he as a bridegroom goeth forth from his chamber; He exulteth as a strong man to run his course.
6 From one extremity of the heavens is his going forth, And his circuit to the utmost limits thereof, And no person is hidden from his heat.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of Jehovah is faithful, instructing in wisdom the babes;
8 The statutes of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
9 The fear of Jehovah is clean, enduring for ever; The judgments of Jehovah are truth, they are justified together.
10 More desirable [are they] than gold, and much fine gold; And sweeter than honey, and the dropping of honeycombs.
11 Moreover, thy servant is made circumspect by them; And in their observance the reward is great.
12 His errors who can understand? From my hidden sins cleanse thou me.
13 Likewise from presumptuous sins restrain thou thy servant, That they may not have dominion over me; Then upright shall I be and clean from much wickedness.
14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart be acceptable Before thee, O Jehovah! my strength and my Redeemer.
PSALM 20
*To the Chief Musician. A Psalm Of David*
1 May Jehovah hear thee in the day of trouble!
2 May he send help to thee from the sanctuary! And out of Zion sustain thee!
3 May he be mindful of all thy offerings! And thy holocaust may he make flit! Selah.
4 May he give to thee according to thy heart! And all thy counsel may he fulfill!
5 That we may exult in thy salvation, And in the name of our God erect a banner, When Jehovah shall fulfill all thy petitions.
6 Now I have known that Jehovah hath saved his anointed; He will hear him from the heavens of his sanctuary, In the mightiness of the salvation of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But the name of Jehovah our God we will remember.
8 They are bowed down and fallen; But we are risen up and stand erect.
9 O Jehovah! do thou save; Let the King hear us in the day that we call upon him.
PSALM 21
*To the Chief Musician. A Psalm Of David*
1 O Jehovah! in thy strength rejoice shall the king, And in thy salvation how greatly shall he exult!
2 The desire of his heart thou hast given him, And what he uttered with his lips, thou hast not denied him. Selah.
3 For thou shalt prevent him with blessings of good; Thou shalt place upon his head a crown of gold.
4 Life he asked from thee; Thou hast given him length of days for ever and ever.
5 Great is his glory in thy salvation: Splendor and beauty thou hast put upon him.
6 For thou hast set him [to be] blessings for ever: Thou hast gladdened him with joy before thy countenance.
7 For the king trusteth in Jehovah; And through the goodness of the Most High, he shall not be moved 8 Find out shall thy hand all thy enemies; Thy right hand shall find out thy haters.
9 Thou shalt put them as in a furnace of fire in the time of thy wrath, O Jehova! In his wrath he shall overwhelm them, And consume them shall the fire.
10 Their fruit from the earth thou wilt destroy, And their seed from among the sons of men. 1l. For they have spread out against thee evil; They have devised against thee a stratagem which they could not accomplish.
12 For thou wilt set them as a butt; On thy strings thou shalt make ready thy arrows against their faces.
13 Be thou exalted, O Jehovah! in thy strength, Then we will sing and celebrate in psalms thy power.
PSALM 22
*To the Chief Musician. Upon the hind of the morning. A Psalm Of David*
1 My God! my God! why hast thou forsaken me? [Why art thou] far from my help, from the words of my roaring?
2 O my God! I cry by day, and thou dost not hear: And in the night, and am not silent.
3 Yet thou art holy, Inhabiting the praises of Israel.
4 In thee trust did our fathers: They trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
5 To thee they cried, and were saved: In thee they trusted, and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm, and not a man; The reproach of men, and despised of the people.
7 All who see me scoff at me: They thrust out the lip, they shake the head.
8 “He hath devolved,” say they, “upon Jehovah, his cause, let him rescue him, “Let him deliver him, since he hath a favor for him.”
9 Surely it is thou who didst take me out of the womb, Causing me to confide upon the breasts of my mother.
10 Upon thee I was cast from the womb: From the belly of my mother my God art thou.
11 Depart not far from me, for trouble is near, For there is no helper.
12 Encompassed me have bulls [that are] strong, The bulls of Bashan have beset me.
13 They have opened upon me their mouth, As a lion ravening and roaring.
14 Like water I have flowed, ff66 And disjointed have been ff67 all my bones: My heart hath been ff68 like wax, It hath been ff69
melted in the midst of my bowels.
15 Dried up as a potsherd hath been ff70 my strength, And my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; And to the dust of death thou hast brought me.
16 For encompassed me have dogs; The assembly of the wicked have surrounded me: They have pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I will count all my bones; As for them they look and gaze upon me.
18 They divide my garments among them; Upon my vesture they cast the lot.
19 And thou, O Jehovah! be not far from me; Thou who art my strength, to my aid hasten.
20 Rescue from the sword my soul; From the hand of the dog my only one.
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion, And from the horns of unicorns do thou hear me.
22 I will declare thy name to my brethren; In the midst of the assembly will I praise thee.
23 Saying, “Ye who fear Jehovah praise him: “All ye the seed of Jacob glorify him: “And stand in awe of him, all ye the seed of Israel.
24 “For he hath not despised nor disdained the poor; “Nor hath he hidden his face from him; “And when he cried to him, he heard him.”
25 From thee shall proceed my praise in the congregation great; My vows will I pay before them that fear him.
26 Eat shall the poor, and be satisfied; They shall praise Jehovah who seek him; Your heart shall live for ever.
27 Remember and turn to Jehovah shall all the ends of the earth; And prostrate themselves before his face shall all the tribes of the Gentiles.
28 For Jehovah’s is the kingdom, That he may have dominion among the Gentiles.
29 Eat and worship shall all the fat ones of the earth: Before his face shall bow all who are going down to the dust; And he who his own soul doth not quicken.
30 Their seed shall serve him, It shall be registered to the Lord for a generation.
31 They shall come and shall declare his righteousness, To a people that shall be born, because he hath done [this.],
PSALM 23
*A Psalm of David*
1 Jehovah is my shepherd, therefore I shall not want any thing.
2 In pastures of grass he maketh me to lie down; To waters gently flowing he leadeth me.
3 My soul he restoreth: He leadeth me by the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Though I should walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear evil, because thou art with me; Thy staff and thy crook they comfort me.
5 Thou wilt prepare before me a table in the presence of my persecutors; Thou wilt anoint with oil my head; My cup overfloweth.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, And I shall dwell in the house of Jehovah for a length of days.
PSALM 24
*A Psalm of David*
1 Jehovah’s is the earth, and the fullness thereof; The world, and those who dwell therein.
2 For he upon the seas hath founded it, And upon the floods he hath arranged it.
3 Who shall ascend into the mountain of Jehovah? Who shall stand in the place of his holiness?
4 He who is clean in hands and pure in heart, Who hath not lifted up to vanity his soul, And hath not sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive blessing from Jehovah, And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 This is the generation of those who seek him, Of those who seek thy face, O Jacob! Selah.
7 Lift up, O ye gates! your heads, And be ye lifted up, ye doors everlasting! And enter shall the King of Glory.
8 Who is this King of Glory? Jehovah strong and mighty, Jehovah mighty in power. ff71 9 Lift up, O ye gates! your heads, Lift up, I say, ye doors everlasting! And enter shall the King of Glory.
10 Who is this King of Glory? Jehovah of armies — He is the King of Glory. Selah.
PSALM 25
*Of David*
1 To thee, O Jehovah! my soul have I lifted up.
2 O my God! in thee have I hoped: Let me not be put to shame, Let not my enemies rejoice over me.
3 Yea none who wait on thee shall be put to shame: They shall be ashamed who deal perfidiously without cause.
4 Thy ways, O Jehovah! make me to know, Thy paths teach thou me.
15 Direct me in thy truth, and teach me; For thou art the God of my salvation; For thee I have waited all the day.
6 Remember thy compassions, O Jehovah! And thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been from everlasting.
7 The transgressions of my youth, and my iniquities do not thou remember According to thy clemency remember thou me, For the sake of thy goodness, O Jehovah!
8 Good and upright is Jehovah, Therefore he will teach sinners in the way.
9 He will guide the poor in judgment, And will teach the poor his way.
10 All the ways of Jehovah are mercy and truth, To those who keep his covenant and his testimony.
11 For the sake of thy name, O Jehovah! Be merciful to my iniquity, for great is it.
12 Who is the man that feareth Jehovah? He will teach him in the way which he should choose.
13 His soul in good shall dwell, And his seed shall inherit the land.
14 The counsel of Jehovah is to those who fear him, That he may make known to them his covenant.
15 My eyes are continually towards Jehovah, For he will bring out of the net my feet.
16 Have respect to me, take pity upon me, For solitary and poor am I.
17 The afflictions of my heart are enlarged; Out of my distresses do thou bring me.
18 Behold my affliction and my travail, And take away all my sins.
19 Behold my enemies, for they are multiplied; And with a violent hatred they hate me.
20 Guard my soul, and rescue me, That I may not be ashamed; For I have trusted in thee.
21 Let integrity and rectitude preserve me; Because I have waited for thee.
22 Redeem O God! Israel from all his troubles.
PSALM 26
*Of David*
1 Judge me, O Jehovah: Because in my integrity I have walked, And in Jehovah have trusted, I shall not stumble.
2 Prove me, O Jehovah! and try me, Examine my reins and my heart.
3 For thy goodness is before my eyes; Therefore I have walked in thy truth.
4 I have not sat with men of vanity, And with crafty men I will not go in.
5 I hate the assembly of transgressors, And with the wicked I will not sit.
6 I will wash in purity my hands, And will encompass thy altar, O Jehovah!
7 To cause to be heard the voice of praise, And to tell of all thy marvelous deeds.
8 O Jehovah! I have loved the habitation of thy house, And the place of the dwelling of thy glory.
9 Gather not with ungodly men, my soul, Nor with men of bloods my life.
10 For in their hands is maliciousness, And their right hand is full of bribes.
11 But as for me in my integrity I will walk: Redeem me, and have mercy upon me.
12 My foot hath stood in uprightness: In the congregations will I bless thee, O Jehovah!
PSALM 27
*Of David*
1 Jehovah is my light and my salvation, Whom shall I fear? Jehovah is the strength of my life, Of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When approach against me did the wicked, To devour my flesh — My oppressors and my enemies against me — They stumbled and fell.
3 If there should encamp against me a camp, My heart shall not fear: If there should rise against me war, In this shall I have confidence.
4 One thing have I requested from Jehovah — This will I follow after — That I may dwell in the house of Jehovah all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of Jehovah, To survey his temple.
5 For he shall hide me in his pavilion in the day of evil; He shall conceal me in the secret [recess] of his tent, Upon a rock he will set me.
6 And now he shall exalt my head Above my enemies who surround me: And I will sacrifice in his tabernacle sacrifices of triumph; I will sing and will celebrate in psalms Jehovah.
7 Hear, O Jehovah! my voice with which I cry; Have mercy upon me and answer me.
8 To thee my heart hath said, “Seek ye my face; “ Therefore thy face, O Jehovah! will I seek.
9 Hide not thy face from me; Cast not away in wrath thy servant: My strength thou hast been, do not desert me, And do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!
10 When my father and my mother shall forsake me, Jehovah shall receive me.
11 Teach me, O Jehovah! thy way, And lead me in the path of rectitude because of my enemies.
12 Do not deliver me to the desire of my oppressors, For risen up against me have false witnesses, And he who uttereth violence.
13 Unless I had believed to see the goodness of Jehovah, in the land of the living —.
14 Wait thou on Jehovah; Be strong, and he will comfort thy heart, And wait thou on Jehovah.
PSALM 28
*Of David*
1 Unto thee, O Jehovah! will I cry; O my strength! hold not thy peace from me Lest if thou shouldst be silent to me, I then become like those who descend into the grave.
2 Hear the voice of my prayers when I cry to thee, When I lift up my hands to the sanctuary of thy holiness. 3, Draw me not away with ungodly men, And with the workers of iniquity, Who speak peace ff72 with their neighbors, When in their hearts is malice.
4 Give them according to their works, And according to the wickedness of their doings: According to the work of their hands give them, Render their reward to them.
5 Because they do not consider the doing of Jehovah, Nor the work of his hands, Let him destroy them and not build them up.
6 Blessed be Jehovah! For he hath heard the voice of my supplications.
7 Jehovah is my strength and my shield; In him trusted hath my heart, and I have been helped: Therefore exult shall my heart, And with my song will I celebrate him.
8 Jehovah is strength to them, And the strength of the salvations of his Anointed is He.
9 Save thy people, and bless thy inheritance; Feed them and exalt them for ever.
PSALM 29
*A Psalm of David*
1 Ascribe to Jehovah: ye sons of the mighty — Ascribe to Jehovah glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to Jehovah the glory of his name; Worship before Jehovah in the brightness of his sanctuary.
3 The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters; The God of glory thundereth; Jehovah is upon the waters great.
4 The voice of Jehovah is in strength, The voice of Jehovah is in majesty.
5 The voice of Jehovah breaketh the cedars; Break, I say, doth Jehovah the cedars of Lebanon.
6 And he maketh Lebanon to leap like a calf, And Sirion like the son of the unicorns.
7 The voice of Jehovah striketh out flames of fire.
8 The voice of Jehovah maketh the desert to tremble. Jehovah maketh to tremble the desert of Kadesh.
9 The voice of Jehovah maketh the hinds to bring forth, And discovereth the forests, And all meanwhile in his temple speak his praise.
10 Jehovah over the flood presideth, Preside, I say, doth Jehovah [as] King for ever.
11 Jehovah strength to his people will give; Jehovah will bless his people with peace.
PSALM 30
*A Psalm of a Song at the dedication of the house of David*
1 I will exalt thee, O Jehovah! for thou hast raised me up, And hast not made glad my enemies over me.
2 O Jehovah, my God! I have cried to thee, And thou hast healed me.
3 O Jehovah! thou hast brought up from the grove my soul; Thou hast quickened me from among those who descend into the pit.
4 Sing to Jehovah, O ye his meek ones! And acknowledge the memorial of his holiness.
5 For there is only a moment in his anger, But life in his favor: In the evening will lodge weeping, And in the morning shall come exultation.
6 But as for me I had said in my tranquillity, “I shall not be moved for ever.”
7 O Jehovah! in thy good pleasure Thou hast established strength to my mountain; Thou didst hide thy face, I was confounded.
8 O Jehovah! to thee I cried, And to my Lord I made supplication.
9 What profit shall there be in my blood, When I descend into the pit? Celebrate thee shall the dust? Shall it proclaim thy truth?
10 Hear, O Jehovah! and have mercy upon me; O Jehovah! be thou a helper to me.
11 Thou hast turned my mourning into dancing for me; Thou hast loosed my sackcloth, And girded me with gladness.
12 That celebrate thee in psalms may my glory, and not be silent: O Jehovah, my God! for ever will I celebrate thee.
PSALM 31
*To the Chief Musician,. A Psalm of David*
1 In thee, O Jehovah! have I trusted, Let me not be put to shame for ever: In thy righteousness deliver me.
2 Incline to me thy ear, Speedily do thou rescue me; Be to me for a rock of strength, For a house of defense to save me.
3 For my rock, and my fortress art thou: And for the sake of thy name thou wilt direct and guide me.
4 Extricate me from the net, which they have hidden for me, For thou art my strength.
5 Into thy hand I will commend my spirit; For thou hast redeemed me, O Jehovah! God of truth.
6 I hate all those who regard lying vanities; But as for me in Jehovah I have trusted.
7 I will exult and rejoice in thy goodness; Because thou hast looked upon my affliction: Thou hast known in distresses my soul:
8 And thou hast not shut me up in the hand of the enemy: But thou hast set at large my feet.
9 Have pity upon me, O Jehovah! for trouble is to me: My eye hath consumed away for vexation; my soul and my belly.
10 My life hath riffled through grid; And my years with groaning: My strength hath sunk through my sorrow, And my bones have moldered away.
11 On account of all my enemies I was a reproach, Yea to my neighbors exceedingly, And a terror to my acquaintances; And those who saw me abroad fled from me.
12 I was forgotten as a dead man from the heart; I became like a vessel [that is] broken.
13 For I have heard the slander of many: Fear hath seized me on every side, While they consult together against me, And to take away my life do devise.
14 But as for me, in thee have I trusted, O Jehovah! I have said, “My God art thou.”
15 In thy hand are my times; Rescue me from the hand of my enemies, And from those who persecute me.
16 Cause to shine upon thy servant thy face, Save me in thy goodness.
17 O Jehovah! let me not be put to shame, For I have called upon thee: Let the wicked be put to shame, Let Gem be silent in the grave.
18 Let the lips of lying be put to shame, Which speak against the righteous a hard thing in pride and scorn.
19 How great is thy goodness, Which thou hast hidden for those who fear thee! Which thou hast performed for those who confide in thee, Before the sons of men!
20 Thou shalt hide them in the hidden place of thy presence, From the prides of man; Thou shalt conceal them as in a tent, From the strife of tongues.
21 Blessed be Jehovah! For he hath made wonderful his goodness towards me, As in a city fortified.
22 But as for me, I had said in my fear, “I am cast away from before thy eyes: “ Yet truly thou hast heard the voice of my supplications, When I cried unto thee.
23 Love Jehovah, all ye meek ones of his! The faithful preserve doth Jehovah, And he repayeth plentifully him who behaveth proudly. 2d. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, All ye who hope in Jehovah.
PSALM 32
*Of David. Giving instruction*
1 Blessed are those to whom is remitted iniquity, And whose transgression is covered.
2 Blessed is the man to whom Jehovah doth not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is not guile.
3 When I kept silence, waste away did my bones, And when I wailed all the day.
4 For by day and night heavy upon me was thy hand; Turned into the drought of summer was my greenness. Selah.
5 My sin I have acknowledged to thee, And my iniquity I have not hid. I said, “I will confess against myself my wickedness to Jehovah;” And thou didst remit the guilt of my sin. Selah.
6 On this account, pray to thee shall every man, that is meek, In the time of finding thee: So that in a flood of many waters, To him they shall not come near.
7 Thou art a hiding-place to me; From trouble thou shalt preserve me; With songs of deliverance thou shalt encompass me. Selah.
8 I will instruct thee, And teach thee the way wherein thou shouldest walk: I will counsel thee with mine eye.
9 Be ye not like a horse, or like a mule, Which have not understanding: With bit and bridle his jaws thou shalt bind, Lest they kick against thee.
10 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: But the man who hopeth in Jehovah goodness shall encompass.
11 Rejoice in Jehovah, and exult, ye righteous! Sing all ye who are upright in heart.
PSALM 33
1 Exult, ye righteous! in Jehovah: For to the upright comely is praise.
2 Celebrate Jehovah upon the harp; Upon the nablure, ff73 and instrument of ten strings, sing psalms to him 3 Sing to him a song that is new; Ardently sing with shouting.
4 For right is the word of Jehovah, And all his works are in faithfulness.
5 He loveth righteousness and judgment: Of the goodness of Jehovah fill is the earth.
6 By the word of Jehovah the heavens were established, And by the breath of his mouth all their host.
7 He gathered together as an heap the waters of the sea; He laid up as in treasure houses the deeps.
8 Let all the earth fear Jehovah; Of him let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe.
9 For he spake, and it was; He commanded, and it stood.
10 Jehovah scattereth the counsel of the Gentiles, He rendereth fruitless the imaginations of the peoples.
11 The counsel of Jehovah for ever shall stand, The thoughts of his heart from age to age.
12 Blessed is the people to whom Jehovah is their God, The people whom he hath chosen for: in inheritance to himself.
13 From heavens looked down hath Jehovah, He hath beheld all the sons of Adam.
14 From the dwelling place of His throne, He hath looked on all the inhabitants of the earth.
15 He who hath fashioned together their hearts, Who understandeth all their works.
16 There is not a king saved by the multitude of an host, Nor a giant rescued by greatness of strength.
17 Fallacious is a horse for safety, And by the greatness of his strength he will not deliver.
18 Behold! the eye of Jehovah is upon those who fear him, [Upon those] who hope in his mercy;
19 To rescue from death their souls, To keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waiteth for Jehovah: Our help and our shield is he.
21 Surely in him rejoice shall our heart, Because in his holy name we will trust.
22 Let thy mercy be upon us, O Jehovah! According as we have trusted in thee.
PSALM 34
*Of David when he changed his countenance before Abimelech, who expelled* *him, and he departed*
1 I will bless Jehovah at all times: Continually his praise shall be in my mouth.
2 In Jehovah make her boast shall my soul: Hear shall the humble and be glad.
3 Magnify? Jehovah with me, And let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought. Jehovah, and he answered me, And from all my fears he delivered me.
5 They shall look to him, and shall flow to him, And their faces shall not he ashamed.
6 This poor man cried,: and Jehovah heard him, And from all his distresses saved him.
7 Encamp doth the angel of Jehovah about those who fear him, And will deliver them.
8 Taste ye and see that good is Jehovah: Blessed is the man who trusteth in him.
9 Fear Jehovah, ye saints of his; For nothing is lacking to those who fear him.
10 The young lions suffer want and are famished: But those who fear Jehovah shall not want any good thing.
11 Come ye children, hearken to me, The fear of Jehovah I will teach you.
12 Who is the man that desireth life, Loving days in which he may see good?
13 Keep thy tongue from evil, And thy lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil, and do good; Seek peace, and pursue it.
15 The eyes of Jehovah are upon the righteous, And his ears [are open] to their cry.
16 The face of Jehovah is upon those who do evil, To blot out from the earth their remembrance.
17 They cried, and Jehovah heard them, And from all their distresses he delivered them.
18 Near is Jehovah to the broken in heart; The contrite in spirit he will save.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous; But from them all deliver him will Jehovah.
20 He keepeth all his bones: One of them is not broken.
21 That malice shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous shall be destroyed.
22 Redeem doth, Jehovah the soul of his servants, And they shall not perish who confide in him.
PSALM 35
*Of David*
1 Plead, O Jehovah! with those who plead with me, Fight against those who fight against me.
2 Lay hold on shield and buckler, And rise up to my aid.
3 Draw out the spear, and stop my ears against my persecutors: Say to my soul, “Thy salvation am I.”
4 Let those be confounded and put to shame Who seek my soul, Let those be turned back and be abashed Who devise my hurt.
5 Let them be as chaff before the wind? And let the angel of Jehovah drive them.
6 Let their way be darkness and slipperiness; And let the angel of Jehovah pursue them:
7 For without a cause they have hid for me the pitfall of their net, ff74 Without a cause they have digged a pit for my soul.
8 Let there come upon him confusion of which he is not aware; And let the net which he hath hidden catch him; With confusion let him fall into it.
9 And my soul hath exulted in Jehovah, It shall rejoice in his salvation.
10 All my bones shall say, “O Jehovah! who is like to thee, “Rescuing the poor from him who is too strong for him, “The poor and wretched from his spoiler?”
11 Rise up do witnesses [that are] violent; Things which I have not known they ask me.
12 They repay me evil for good, To the bereaving of my soul.
13 But as for me, in their sickness my clothing was sackcloth: I afflicted by fasting my soul; And my prayer upon my own bosom was turned.
14 As if he had been a friend, as if a brother to me, I behaved myself towards him: As he who mourneth heavily for his mother I humbled myself.
15 But they at my halting rejoiced, they were assembled together: Assembled together, I say, against me, were the abjects whom I had not known: They have torn with their lips and have not been silent.
16 Among perfidious jesters at feasts, They gnash upon me with their teeth.
17 O Lord! how long wilt thou behold it? Rescue my soul from their violence, From the lions my only one.
18 I will celebrate thee in the congregation great: Among people many I will praise thee.
19 Let not those rejoice over me, who unjustly are my enemies; Nor let those who hate me without a cause wink with the eye.
20 For peace they speak not;
21 They have opened against me their mouth; They have said, “Aha! aha! seen it hath our eye.”
22 Thou hast seen it also, O Jehovah: Be not silent, O Lord! be not far from me.
23 Arouse thyself, and awake for my judgment, My God! and my Lord! to my cause.
24 Judge me according to thy righteousness, O Jehovah, my God! And let them not rejoice over me.
25 Let them not say in their heart, “Aha! our soul!” Let them not say “We have destroyed him.”
26 Let those be ashamed and confounded together, Who rejoice at my calamity; Let those be clothed with shame and ignominy, Who magnify themselves against me.
27 But let those shout and rejoice, who favor my righteousness: And let them say continually, “Magnified be Jehovah! “Who loveth the peace of his servant.”
28 And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness; All the day of thy praise.
PSALM 36
*To the Chief Musician. Of the servant of Jehovah, [εςεν of David*
1 Ungodliness saith to the wicked man in the midst of my heart, There is no fear of God before his eyes.
2 For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, Until his iniquity be found to be hateful.
3 The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit, He teaseth to understand that he may do good.
4 Iniquity he meditates upon his bed; He setteth himself in a way not good; Evil he doth not abhor.
5 O Jehovah! unto the heavens is thy mercy, Thy truth even unto the clouds.
6 Thy justice is like the great mountains, Thy judgments are a great deep. Man and beast, thou preservest, O Jehovah!
7 How precious is thy loving-kindness, O God! Therefore the sons of men in the shadow of thy wings shall trust.
8 They shall be fully satisfied with the fatness of thy house; And of the river of thy pleasures thou shalt cause them to drink.
9 For with thee is the fountain of life, And in thy light shall we see light.
10 Extend thy mercy to those who know thee, And thy righteousness to the upright in heart.
11 Let not the foot of pride come upon me; And the hand of the ungodly let it not remove me.
12 There fallen are the workers of iniquity; They are thrust down and shall not be able to stand. ff75
PSALM 37
*Of David*
1 Vex not thyself because of the wicked, Nor be envious on account of the workers of iniquity.
2 For like the grass quickly shall they be cut down; And as the green herb they shall wither.
3 Trust thou in Jehovah, and do good; Dwell in the land, and be fed in truth.
4 And delight in Jehovah, And he will grant thee the request of thy heart.
5 Devolve upon Jehovah thy ways, And trust in him, and he will bring it to pass.
6 And he will bring forth as the light thy righteousness, And thy judgments as the noonday.
7 Be silent to Jehovah, and wait for him; Vex not thyself at him who prospereth in his way, At the man who committeth wickedness.
8 Cease from anger, forsake wrath, Vex not thyself so as to commit sin.
9 For the wicked shall be cut off; But those who wait for Jehovah shall inherit the earth.
10 Yet a little while, and the ungodly shall not be; And thou shalt give attention to his place, and shalt not find him.
11 But the meek ones shall inherit the earth, And shall be delighted in the abundance of peace.
12 Plot doth the ungodly against the righteous, And gnasheth against him with his teeth.
13 The Lord shall laugh at him, For he seeth that coming is his day.
14 Their sword draw do the ungodly, And their bow they bend, To lay prostrate the poor and needy, To slay those who are upright in the way.
15 But their sword shall enter into their own heart, And their bow shall be broken.
16 Better is a little to the righteous man, Than the wealth of the ungodly who are great.
17 For the arms of the ungodly shall be broken; But Jehovah sustaineth the righteous.
18 Know doth Jehovah the days of the upright, And their inheritance for ever shall be.
19 They shall not be put to shame in the time of adversity; And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
20 For the ungodly shall perish, And the enemies of Jehovah like the fattest of lambs shall be consumed; Into smoke they shall be consumed.;
21 Borrow doth the ungodly man, and doth not repay; But the righteous man is compassionate and giveth.
22 For those who are blessed of him shall inherit the earth, And those who are cursed of him shall be cut off.
23 By Jehovah the steps of a man are directed, And his way he will love.
24 When he shall fall he shall not be bruised, For Jehovah putteth under [him] his hand.
25 Young I have been, I have also grown old; And yet I have not seen the righteous man forsaken, Nor his seed begging for bread.
26 Daily he is compassionate and lendeth, And his seed is for blessing.
27 Depart from evil and do good, And dwell for ever.
28 For Jehovah loveth judgment, And doth not forsake his meek ones; For ever shall they be preserved: And the seed of the ungodly shall be cut off.
29 The righteous shall inherit the earth, And shall dwell for ever upon it.
30 The mouth of the righteous shall speak wisdom;
31 The law of his God is in his heart; Slide not shall his steps.
32 Watch doth the ungodly the righteous man, And seeketh to put him to death.
33 Jehovah will not leave him in his hand, Nor condemn him when he is judged.
34 Wait for Jehovah, and keep his way, And he shall exalt thee to inherit the earth: When the ungodly shall be cut off thou shalt see it.
35 I have seen the ungodly man robust, ff76 And spreading himself like a green bay tree;
36 And he passed away, and to I he was not; And I sought for his place, and he was not found.
37 Mark the perfect man, and consider the upright; For the end of such a man is peace.
38 But transgressors shall be destroyed together: The end of the ungodly shall be cut off.
39 But the salvation of the righteous is from Jehovah: He will be their strength in the time of trouble.
40 And help them shall Jehovah, and deliver them: He shall deliver them from the wicked: He shall save them, because they trust in him.
PSALM 38
*A Psalm of David: to bring to remembrance*
1 O Jehovah! do not in thy fury rebuke me, And in thy wrath do not chasten me.
2 For thy arrows go down in me, And descend upon me doth thy hand.
3 There is no soundness in my flesh, because of thy wrath, Nor peace in my bones because of my sin.
4 For my iniquities have passed over my head, Like a burden that is weighty, they are too heavy for me.
5 Putrid [and] corrupt have my wounds become, Because of my foolishness.
6 I am bowed down, I am brought low exceedingly; Day by day a mourner I do walk:
7 For my reins are filled with a burning heat; Nor is there soundness in my flesh.
8 I am enfeebled and broken exceedingly: I have roared through the disquietude of my heart.
9 O Lord! before thee is all my desire, And my groaning from thee is not hidden,
10 My heart hath throbbed, forsaken me hath my strength; And the light of my eyes, it also is gone from me.
11 My friends and my companions aloof from my stroke have stood, And my kinsmen afar off have stood.
12 And they have laid snares who sought for my soul; Arid those who sought my hurt have threatened mischiefs; And deceits daily do they meditate.
13 But as for me, like a deaf man I hear not; And I am like a dumb man who openeth not his mouth.
14 And I was as a man who doth not hear, And in whose mouth there are no reproofs.
15 For on thee, O Jehovah! do I wait: Thou wilt answer me, O Lord, my God!
16 For I said, “Lest they should rejoice over me: “ At the slipping of my foot against me they magnified themselves, 17 Surely as for me I am ready to halt; And my sorrow is before me continually.
18 Surely my iniquity I declare; I am in consternation because of my sin.
19 But my enemies are living; ff77 they are strong; And those are become mighty who hate me wrongfully.
20 And they who requite me evil for good are against me, Because I follow [what is] good.
21 Forsake me not, O Jehovah, my God! Be not far from me.
22 Hasten to my help, O Lord, my salvation!
PSALM 39
*To the Chief Musician, Jeduthun. A Psalm of David*
1 I said “I will take heed to my ways, “That I sin not with my tongue: “I will keep my mouth with a muzzle, “While the ungodly man standeth before me.”
2 I was dumb not uttering a word; I held my peace [even] from good; And my sorrow was stirred.
3 My heart became hot within me; In my musing a fire did burn; I spake with my tongue.
4 Cause me to know, O Jehovah! my end, And the number of my days, That I may know of what duration I am.
5 Behold! as an handbreadth thou hast made my days, And my duration is as nothing before thee: Surely altogether vanity is every mart while he standeth.
6 Surely in a shadow man walketh; [Selah. Surely in vain is he disquieted: They heap together, and know not who shall gather.
7 And now what do I wait for, O Lord? My hope is towards thee.
8 From all my sins deliver thou me: The reproach of the foolish make me not.
9 I was dumb; I will not open my mouth, Because thou hast done it.
10 Remove from me thy stroke: By the blow of thy hand I have failed.
11 With rebukes for iniquity thou chastisest man; And causest to waste away as a moth his beauty: Surely vanity is every man. Selah.
12 Hear my prayer, O Jehovah! And to my cry give ear; At my tears be not silent; For a stranger am I before thee, A sojourner like all my fathers.
13 Let me alone, that I may recover strength, Before I depart and be no more.
PSALM 40
*To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David*
1 I have patiently waited for Jehovah, And he inclined to me, and heard my cry.
2 And he drew me out of the roaring pit, Out of the mire of clay, And set upon a rock my feet; He hath established my steps.
3 And he hath put in my mouth a song [that ισ new, Even praise to our God: See shall many and shall fear, And shall trust in Jehovah.
4 Blessed is the man who maketh Jehovah his confidence, And hath not respected the proud, Nor those who turn aside to lying.
5 Many, O Jehovah, my God! are thy wonderful works which thou hast done; And thy thoughts towards us it is impossible to reckon up in order to thee: I will declare and speak [of them;] [Βυτ they are more than can be told.
6 Sacrifice and oblation thou hast not taken pleasure in: But my ears hast thou made fit: ff78 Burnt-offering and sin-offering thou hast not required.
7 Then I said, “Behold! I come; “In the volume of the book it is written of me, 8 “That I may do thy pleasure, O my God! “I have desired to do it, “And thy law is in the midst of my bowels.”
9 I have proclaimed thy righteousness in the assembly great: Behold my lips I will not restrain; O Jehovah! thou knowest it.
10 Thy righteousness I have not hidden within my heart; Thy truth and thy salvation I have declared: I have not concealed thy goodness and thy truth in the assembly great.
11 O thou, Jehovah! withhold not thy compassions from me; Let thy goodness and thy truth continually preserve me.
12 For encompassed me have evils innumerable; Laid hold upon me have my iniquities, yea in so great number that I cannot see them: They are more in number than the hairs of my head; And my heart hath failed me.
13 Let it please thee, O Jehovah! to deliver me; O Jehovah! to my aid make haste.
14 Let them be put to shame and confounded together Who seek after my soul to destroy it; Let them be turned backward and put to shame Who seek after my hurt.
15 Let them be destroyed for a reward of their shame, Who have said to me, “Aha! aha!”
16 Let all those exult and rejoice in thee who seek thee; And let those say continually, “May Jehovah be magnified” — “Those who love thy salvation.
17 But as for me I am poor and needy. Jehovah hath regarded me; My help and my deliverer art thou: O thou, my God! delay not.
PSALM 41
*To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David*
1 Blessed is he who judgeth wisely of the poor: In the day of evil Jehovah will deliver him.
2 Jehovah will keep him, and preserve him alive: He shall be blessed upon the earth: And thou will not give him up to the desire of his enemies.
3 Jehovah will support him upon the bed of sorrow: All his bed thou hast turned in his sickness.
4 I have said, “O Jehovah! have mercy upon me; “Heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee.”
5 My enemies have spoken evil of me, “When will he die, and perish shall his name? “ 6 And if he come to see me falsely doth he speak; His heart gathereth iniquity to itself’: When he goeth abroad he speaketh [it.] 7 Together against me do all my haters whisper; Against me do they devise evil for me, [saying,] 8 “An evil deed of Belial cleaveth fast to him; “And he who lieth shall not rise again.”
9 Even the man of my peace in whom I trusted, Who eateth of my bread, hath lifted up against me the heel.
10 Do thou then, O Jehovah! have mercy upon me; Raise me up, and I will recompense them.
11 By this I have known that I have been acceptable to thee, Because my enemy shall not triumph over me.
12 And as for me, in my integrity thou wilt uphold me, And wilt establish me before thy face for ever.
13 Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, For ever and ever. Amen and Amen.
PART SECOND.79
PSALM 42
*To the Chief Musician. A lesson of instruction to the Sons of Korah*
1 As the hart crieth for the fountains of waters, So my soul crieth for thee, O God!
2 Thirsted hath my soul for God, for the living God: When shall I come to appear before the face of God?
3 To me have my tears been for bread, by day and night, While it is said to me daily, “Where is thy God? “ 4 When these things I remember, I pour out within me my soul, Because I had gone with the procession, Leading them even to the house of God, With the voice of exultation and praise, — The multitude dancing for joy.
5 ‘Why art thou cast down, O my soul! And why art thou disquieted within me? Wait thou for God; for I shall yet give him thanks, [For] the salvations of his countenance.
6 O my God! my soul within me is cast down, When I remember thee from the land of Jordan and of Hermonim, From the mountain Mizar.
7 Deep unto deep calleth at the noise of thy waterspouts: All thy waves and all thy billows over me have gone.
8 By day command will Jehovah his loving-kindness, And by night his song shall be with me, And prayer to the God of my life.
9 I will say to God, my Rock, “Why hast thou forgotten me? “Why mourning do I go because of the oppression of my enemy?”
10 [It is as] a wound in my bones when my enemies reproach me, Saying to me daily, “Where is thy God? “ 11 ‘Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet give thanks to him, The salvations of my countenance, and my God.
PSALM 43
1 Judge me, O God! and plead my cause: From a people without mercy, from a man deceitful and wicked deliver me.
2 For thou art the God of my strength; Why art thou estranged from me? Why mourning do I go because of the oppression of the enemy?
3 Send forth thy light and thy truth; Let them direct me, let them conduct me, To the mountain of thy holiness, and to thy tabernacles.
4 And I will go to the altar of God, To the God of the joy of my rejoicing; And I will celebrate thee upon the harp, O God, my God!
5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul! And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet celebrate him, Who is the salvation of my countenance and my God.
PSALM 44
*To the Chief Musician. Of the sons of Korah. Giving instruction*
1 O God! with our ears we have heard, Our fathers have told us, The work which thou hast done in their days, In the days of old.
2 Thou with thy hand hast expelled the heathen, and planted them: Thou hast wasted the peoples and multiplied them:
3 For not by their own sword acquired they the land, And their own arm did not save them; But thy right hand and thy arm, and the light of thy countenance, Because thou wast favorable to them.
4 Thou, even thou, art my King; O God! command salvations for Jacob.
5 Through thee our adversaries with the horn we have pushed; In thy name we have trampled under foot those who rise up against us.
6 For not in my bow will I trust, And my sword will not save me.
7 Surely thou hast saved us from our enemies, And our haters thou hast put to shame.
8 In God we will boast all the day, And thy name for ever shall we praise. Selah.
9 Nevertheless thou hast abhorred us and put us to shame, And thou goest not forth any more with our armies.
10 Thou hast made us to turn back from him that afflicteth us, And our haters have spoiled us for themselves.
11 Thou hast given us as sheep for food; And among the heathen thou hast scattered us.
12 Thou hast sold thy people, and not become rich, And thou hast not increased the price of them.
13 Thou hast made us a reproach to our neighbors, A scorn and derision to those who are round about us.
14 Thou hast made us a byword among the heathen, A shaking of the head among the peoples.
15 Daily is my reproach before me, And the shame of my face hath quite covered me, 16 Because of the voice of him who reproacheth and revileth, Because of the face of the adversary and avenger.
17 All this is come upon us, and we have not forgotten thee, Nor dealt perfidiously in thy covenant;
18 Not turned back hath our heart, Nor declined have our steps from thy path.
19 Although thou hast crushed us in the place of dragons, And covered us with the shadow of death.
20 If we have forgotten the name of our God, And have spread forth our hands to a God that is strange;
21 Shall not God search out this? For he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
22 Surely for thy sake we are killed daily; We are accounted as sheep [appointed] for slaughter.
23 Arise, why sleepest thou, O Lord? Awake, do not forget us for ever.
24 Wherefore thy face dost thou hide? Wilt thou forget our misery and our affliction?
25 For humbled to the dust is our soul; Cleave to the earth doth our belly.
26 Arise for our help, And redeem us for the sake of thy lovingkindness.
PSALM 45
*To the Chief Musician. Upon the lilies. Of the sons of Korah. Giving* *instruction. A Song of loves*
1 Boiling over is my heart to speak a goodly theme, Speak shall I myself of my works concerning the King: My tongue is as the pen of a swift writer.
2 Thou art fair above the sons of men; Diffused is grace on thy lips; Because God hath blessed thee for ever.
3 Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O mighty one! With majesty and glory.
4 And in thy majesty prosper thou; Ride forth upon the word of truth, and meekness and righteousness; And thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things:
5 Thy arrows are sharp (so that the people fall under thee) In the hearts of the enemies of the king.
6 Thy throne, O God! is for ever and ever; The scepter of rectitude is the scepter of thy kingdom.
7 Thou lovest righteousness and hatest impiety; Because anointed thee hath God, thy God, With the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
8 Myrrh, and aloes and cassia [are] in all thy garments, Out of the ivory palaces, whence they have made thee glad.
9 The daughters of kings [were] among thy maids of honor; Stand did thy consort at thy right hand in gold of Ophir.
10 Hearken, O daughter! and consider and incline thy ear; And forget thy people, and the house of thy father.
11 And enamored shall be the King with thy beauty; For he is thy Lord, and thou shalt worship him.
12 And the daughter of Tyre [shall come] with a present; Thy favor entreat shall the rich among the people.
13 All glorious is the daughter of the King within; Of garments embroidered with gold is her clothing.
14 In raiment of needle-work she shall be brought to the King; Her virgins that follow her, her companions shall be brought to thee.
15 They shall be brought with joy and exultation; They shall enter into the palace of the King.
16 Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children; Thou shalt make them princes in all the earth.
17 I will make thy name to be remembered throughout all generation; Therefore celebrate thee shall the peoples for ever and ever.
PSALM 46
*To the Chief Musician. Of the sons of Korah. Upon Alamoth. A Song*
1 God is to us a protection and strength; A help in troubles he is found exceedingly.
2 Therefore we will not fear when moved shall be the earth, And fall shall the mountains into the heart of the sea.
3 [When] roar and rage tempestuously shall the waters thereof; [When] shake shall the mountains with the swelling thereof. Selah.
4 The streams of her river shall make glad the city of God, The Sanctuary of the tabernacles of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: Help her will God at the dawn of the morning.
6 Rage did the peoples, moved were the kingdoms: He uttered his voice, melt did the earth.
7 Jehovah of armies is with us; A fortress for us is the God of Jacob. Selah.
8 Come ye, consider the works of Jehovah, What desolations he hath wrought in the earth.
9 He maketh to cease battles, even to the ends of the earth; He breaketh the bow, he shattereth in pieces the arms; The chariot he burneth with fire.
10 Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen; I will be exalted in the earth.
11 Jehovah of armies is with us; A fortress for us is the God of Jacob. Selah.
PSALM 47
*To the Chief Musician. Of the sons of Korah. Upon Alamoth. A Song*
1 O all ye peoples! clap the hand; Shout unto God with the voice of exultation;
2 For Jehovah is high, terrible, A great king over all the earth.
3 He hath put in order the people under us, And the nations under our feet.
4 He hath chosen for us our inheritance, The glory of Jacob, whom he hath loved. Selah.
5 Gone up is God with a shout, Jehovah with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing psalms to God, sing psalms; Sing psalms to our King, sing psalms;
7 For king of all the earth is God; Sing praises, all ye who understand!
8 The kingdom he hath obtained over the heathen; God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.
9 The princes of the peoples are assembled together To the people of the God of Abraham: For to God belong the shields of the earth: He is greatly exalted.
PSALM 48
*A Song of a Psalm. Of the sons of Korah*
1 Great is Jehovah and to be praised greatly In the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.
2 Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, The mountain of Zion, on the sides of the north, The city of the great King.
3 God in her palaces is known for a defense.
4 For behold! the kings assembled, They passed away together.
5 They themselves saw, so they marveled; They were frightened, they fled precipitately, 6 Fear seized upon them there, Pain as of one in travail.
7 By the east wind thou breakest in pieces the ships of Tarshish.
8 As we have heard, so have we seen In the city of Jehovah of Hosts, In the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah 9 We have waited, O God! for thy mercy In the midst of thy temple, 10 As is thy name, O God! So is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: Of righteousness full is thy right hand.
11 Rejoice shall Mount Zion, Exult shall the daughters of Judah, Because of thy judgments.
12 Encompass Zion, and walk round about her. Number the towers thereof,
13 Set your heart to her walls, Exalt her towers, That ye may make report to the generations to come.
14 For this God is our God for ever and ever: He will be our guide even unto death.
PSALM 49
*To the Chief Musician. Of the sons of Korah. A Psalm*
1 Hear this all ye peoples; Give ear all ye inhabitants of the world:
2 Both ye sons of Adam, and ye sons of men, Rich and poor together.
3 My mouth shall speak of wisdoms, And the meditation of my heart is of understanding.
4 I will incline to a parable my ear: I will open upon the harp my enigma.
5 Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil? The iniquity of my heel shall compass me about.
6 They trust in their wealth, And in the multitude of their riches do glory.
7 The brother shall not be able to redeem; None shall give to God the price of his redemption.
8 And precious shall be the redemption of their soul, And their continuance for ever:
9 That he should still live for ever, And not see the grave.
10 For he shall see that wise men die, Together the fool and the brutish person shall perish, And leave to strangers their wealth.
11 Their inward thought is [how to make] their houses [to continue] for ever, Their dwelling-places from generation to generation: They have called out their names upon the earth.
12 And man in honor shall not abide; He hath become like the beasts: they perish.
13 This their way is foolishness in them, And their posterity in their saying will acquiesce. Selah.
14 Like sleep in the grave they are laid; Death shall feed them; And have dominion over them shall the upright in the morning, And their strength shall wax old; The grave shall receive them from their dwelling.
15 But God shall redeem my soul from the hand of the grave; For he hath taken me up. Selah.
16 Be not thou afraid when a man shall become rich, When increased shall be the glory of his house;
17 For he shall not at his death carry all away: Descend not after him shall his glory:
18 For his soul in his lifetime he will bless, And they shall praise thee when thou doest well to thyself.
19 He shall come to the age of his fathers, Even for ever he shall not see the light.
20 Man is in honor, and will not understand: He hath become like the beasts: they shall perish.
PSALM 50
*A Song, of Asaph*
1 The God of gods, Jehovah hath spoken, And called the earth From the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.
2 Out of Zion, the Perfection of beauty, God hath shined.
3 Come shall our God, and shall not keep silence; A fire before him shall devour, And round about him a tempest shall rage exceedingly.
4 He shall call to the heavens from above, And to the earth, to judge his people.
5 “Gather together to me my meek ones, (will he say), “Those who strike a covenant with me over sacrifices.”
6 And declare shall the heavens his righteousness: For God is judge himself. Selah.
7 “Hear, O my people! and I will speak; “O Israel! and I will announce to thee: “God, [even] thy God am I.
8 “Not for thy sacrifices will I reprove thee; “And thy burntofferings are before me continually.
9 “I will not take out of thy house a calf, “Nor out of thy folds he-goats:
10 “For mine are all the beasts of the forest, “The cattle upon a thousand hills.
11 “I know all the birds of the mountains; “And the wild beasts of the field are at my command.
12 “If I am hungry, I will not tell thee: “For mine is the world and the fullness thereof.
13 “Will I eat the flesh of bulls, “And the blood of goats will I drink?
14 “Sacrifice unto God praise, “And pay unto the Most High thy vows.
15 “Call upon me in the day of trouble; “I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
16 “But unto the wicked said hath God, “What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, “[Or] that thou shouldest take my covenant into thy lips?
17 “Also thou hatest correction, “And castest my words behind thee.
18 “If thou seest a thief, thou wilt run with him, “And with adulterers is thy portion.
19 “Thy mouth thou puttest forth to evil, “And thy tongue frameth deceit, 20 “Thou wilt sit against thy brother; “Thou wilt speak against the sons of thy mother; “Thou wilt set forth slander.
21 “These things thou hast done, and I kept silence; “Thou thoughtest that I would be like thyself’: “I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.
22 “Now consider this, ye who forget God, “Lest I seize upon you and there be none to deliver.
23 “He who sacrificeth praise will glorify me: “And he who ordereth his way to him will I show the salvation of God.”
PSALM 51
*To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David, when Xathan the prophet came to* *him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba*
1 Have pity upon me, O God! according to thy mercy; According to the multitude of thy compassions blot out my iniquities.
2 Multiply to wash me from my sin, And from my wickedness do thou cleanse me.
3 For my sins I know, And my wickedness is before me continually.
4 Against thee, against thee only, have I sinned, And that which was displeasing in thy sight have I done; That thou mayest be justified when thou speakest, And be pure in giving judgment.
5 Behold in iniquity I was born, And in sin conceive me did my mother.
6 Behold, truth thou hast loved in the inmost parts, And in secret, wisdom thou hast made me know.
7 Thou shalt purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; And exult shall the bones which thou hast broken.
9 Hide thy face from my sins, And all my iniquities blot out.
10 A heart [that is] clean create in me, O God! And a spirit [that is] right renew in my inward parts.
11 Cast me not away from thy face, And the Spirit of thy holiness take not from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of thy salvation, And with a free spirit uphold me.
13 I will teach transgressors thy ways, the ungodly to time shall be converted.
14 Deliver me from bloods, O God! O God of my salvation! And sing aloud shall my tongue of thy righteousness.
15 O Lord! my lips do thou open, And my mouth shall show forth thy praise.
16 For thou wilt not accept a sacrifice; Though I should give a burnt-offering, it would not please thee.
17 The sacrifices of God are an afflicted spirit: A heart afflicted and contrite, O God! thou wilt not despise.
18 Do good in thy good pleasure to Zion; Build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then shalt thou accept the sacrifices of righteousness, The burnt-offering and oblation; ff80 Then shall come upon thy altar calves.
PSALM 52
*To the Chief Musician. A lesson of instruction of David: when Doeg the* *Edomite came and told Saul, and said to him, that David had come into the* *house of Abimelech*
1 Why dost thou glory in thy wickedness, O mighty man? The goodness of God continueth daily.
2 Thy tongue reckoneth up mischiefs, Like a razor [that is] sharp working deceitfully.
3 Thou lovest wickedness more than goodness; Falsehood more than to speak righteousness. Selah.
4 Thou lovest all words of deceit, O thou tongue of guilefulness!
5 Likewise God shall destroy thee for ever: He shall lay hold on thee and pluck thee out of thy tabernacle, And root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.
6 See it also shall the righteous ones, and shall fear, And at him they shall laugh.
7 Behold! the man who made not God his strength; And trusted in the abundance of his riches, And was strong in his wickedness.
8 But as for me I shall be like an olive-tree [that is] green in the house of God: I have trusted in the goodness of God for ever and ever.
9 I will celebrate thee for ever, because thou hast done [it:] ff81 I will wait on thy name, For it is good in the presence of thy meek ones.
PSALM 53
*To the Chief Musician, upon Mahalath. A lesson of instruction ofDavid*
1 The fool hath said in his heart, “There is not a God:” They have corrupted [all good order,] they have done abominable work: There is none who doeth good.
2 God from heaven looked down upon the sons of men, To see if there was any who did understand, Who did seek after God.
3 Every one of them hath gone back; They have all together become corrupt: There is none that doeth good, not even one.
4 Have they no knowledge, all these workers of iniquity? Eating my people [as] they eat bread: Upon Jehovah they have not called.
5 There were they afraid with fear, where there was not fear; For scattered hath Jehovah the bones of him that encampeth against thee: Thou hast put them to shame because God hath despised them.
6 Who shall give out of Zion deliverance to Israel? When bring back shall God the captivity of his people, Rejoice shall Jacob, exult shall Israel.
PSALM 54
*To the Chief Musician, on Neginoth. A lesson of instruction of David. When* *the Ziphims came and said to Saul, “Doth not David hide himself with us?”*
1 O God! by thy name save me, And by thy strength judge me.
2 O God! hear my prayer, Give ear to the words of my mouth.
3 For strangers have risen up against me, And terrible ones have sought after my soul: They have not set God before them. Selah.
4 Behold! God is a helper to me; The Lord is with those who uphold my soul.
5 He shall repay evil to my adversaries: In thy truth cut them off.
6 Willingly will I sacrifice to thee; I will celebrate thy name, O Jehovah! for it is good.
7 For out of all trouble he hath delivered me; And [punishment] upon my adversaries mine eye hath seen.
PSALM 55
*To the Chief Musician on Neginoth. A lesson of instruction of David*
1 Give ear, O God! to my prayer, And hide not thyself from my supplication.
2 Attend to me, and answer me: I will wail in my address, and will become tumultuous.
3 By reason of the voice of the enemy — Under the oppression of the ungodly; For they cast upon me iniquity, In wrath they set themselves against me.
4 My heart trembleth within me, And the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and trembling are come upon me, And horror hath overwhelmed me.
6 And I said, “Who will give me wings like a dove? “I will fly away and be at rest.
7 “Lo! I will flee far away, “I will repose in the desert. Selah.
8 “I will hasten my escape from the tempestuous whirlwind.”
9 Destroy, O Lord! divide their tongue: For I have seen oppression and strife in the city.
10 By day and night they go round it upon the walls thereof: And labor and sorrow are in the midst of it.
11 Wickedness ff82 is in the midst of it; And fraud and deceit depart not from the streets thereof.
12 Truly it was not an enemy who reproached me, For [then] I could have borne [it:] It was not an adversary who magnified himself against me, For [then] I would have hid himself from him.
13 But thou, a man according to my own rank, My guide, and my familiar friend.
14 We sweetly exchanged our secret thoughts; Into the house of God we walked in company.
15 Let death seize upon them, Let them descend into the grave alive; For wickedness ff83 is I, their dwelling, in the midst of them.
16 As for me, to God; will I cry, And Jehovah shall save me.
17 In the evening, and the morning, and at noonday Will I pray, and cry aloud; And he shall hear my voice.
18 He hath redeemed into peace my soul From the battle which was against me: For many were with me.
19 Hear shall God, and shall afflict them, Even he who sitteth from ancient time. Selah. Because they have no changes, And fear not God.
20 He hath set his hands against those who were at peace with him: He hath broken his covenant.
21 Smoother than butter are the words of his mouth, And in his heart is war; Softer are his words than oil, And [yet] they are darts.
22 Cast upon Jehovah whatever blessings thou askest from him, ff84
And he shall feed thee; He shall not suffer for ever the righteous man to stagger.
23 Thou, O God! shalt cast them into the pit of corruption: The men of blood and deceit shall not live out half their days: But as for me, I will hope in thee.
PSALM 56
*To the Chief Musician upon, the silent dove in distant places. Michtam of* *David, when the Philistines took him in Gath*
1 Have mercy upon me, O God, For swallow me up doth man; He daily assaulting doth oppress me.
2 Swallow me up do my enemies daily: Truly many strive to oppress me, O Jehovah, Most High!
3 In the day when I was afraid, I in thee did trust.
4 In God I will praise his word; In God have I trusted; I will not fear what flesh can do to me.
5 Every day my words disquiet me; Against me are all their thoughts for evil.
6 They assemble together, they hide themselves, My heels they watch, Because they desire my soul.
7 In their iniquity they think there is escape for them: In thy wrath the peoples thou wilt cast down, O God!
8 My wanderings thou numbereth, even thou: Put my tears into thy bottle; Are they not in thy register?
9 Then my enemies shall be turned back in the day when I cry: This I know, because God is with me.
10 In God will I praise [his] word; In Jehovah will I praise [his] word.
11 In God have I trusted; I will not fear what man can do to me.
12 Upon me, O God! are thy vows, I will render praises to thee.
13 For thou hast delivered my soul from death: Hast thou not also delivered my feet from falling? That I may walk before God in the light of the living.
PSALM 57
*To the Chief Musician. Destroy not. Michtam of David. When he fled from* *the face of Saul in the cave*
1 Have mercy upon me, O God! have mercy upon me; For in thee my soul doth trust; And in the shadow of thy wings will I hope, Until iniquity pass away.
2 I will cry to God Most High, Who perfecteth [his work] towards me.
3 He shall send from Heaven, And shall save me from the reproach of him who swalloweth me up: Send forth shall God his mercy and his truth.
4 My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie among those who are set on fire, — Among the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, And their tongue a sword [that is] sharp.
5 Be thou exalted above the heavens, O God! Above all the earth thy glory.
6 A net they have prepared for my steps: Bowed down is my soul: They have digged before me a pit, But they have fallen into it. Selah 7 Prepared is my heart, O God! prepared is my heart: I will sing, and chant psalms.
8 Awake my tongue, awake nablum ff85 and harp: I will awake at dawn of day.
9 I will celebrate thee, among the peoples, O Lord! I will sing psalms to thee among the nation:
10 For great unto the heavens is thy goodness, And unto the clouds thy truth.
11 Be thou exalted, above the heavens, O God! Above all the earth thy glory.
PSALM 58
*To the Chief Musician. Destroy not. Michtam of David*
1 Do ye indeed, O ye congregation! speak righteousness? Uprightly do ye judge? O ye sons of men!
2 Yea rather in your heart wickedness ye plot, On the earth violence your hands weigh out.
3 Estranged are the ungodly from the womb, They have gone astray from their birth speaking falsehood.
4 They have poison like the poison of a serpent, [They are] like the deaf adder which stoppeth her ear;
5 Which listeneth not to the voice of the enchanter, — Of him who exerciseth enchantment skillfully.
6 O God! break their teeth in their mouth: The jawbones of the lions break, O Jehovah!
7 Let them melt away like water, let them be gone: Let them bend their bow, and let their arrows be as if broken.
8 Like a snail which melteth away let them vanish; Like the untimely birth of a woman which doth not see the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the fire of the bramble, Like flesh yet raw as a whirlwind he shall carry him away.
10 Rejoice shall the righteous when he seeth the vengeance; His hands he shall wash in the blood of the ungodly.
11 And men ff86 shall say, “Truly there is fruit for the righteous, “Truly there is a God who judgeth in the earth.”
PSALM 59
*To the Chief Musician. Destroy not. Michtam of David. When Saul sent, and* *they watched the house to kill him*
1 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God! from those who rise up against me set me on high.
2 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, And from men of bloods save me:
3 For lo! they have laid snares for my soul; Gathered together against me have the strong men; Not [for] my sin, nor [for] my wickedness, O Jehovah!
4 Without any iniquity of mine they have run and prepared themselves. Awake and come to meet me, and behold.
5 And thou, O Jehovah, God of armies! the God of Israel! Awake to visit all the nations; Do not have compassion upon any who transgress wickedly. Selah.
6 They will return at evening; They will make a noise like a dog, And go round about the city.
7 Behold they will prate with their mouth; Swords are in their lips; “For who,” say they, “will hear?”
8 But thou, O Jehovah! shalt laugh at them; Thou shalt hold in derision all the nations.
9 His strength with thee I will put in trust; For God is my fortress.
10 The God of my mercy shall prevent me; God will make me see my desire upon my enemies.
11 Slay them not, lest my people should forget; Make them to wander by thy power; And bring them down, O Lord, our shield!
12 The sin of their mouth, the words of their lips: Let them be taken in their pride: of cursing and lying let them speak.
13 Consume, in thy fury consume them, that they may be no more; And let men know that God ruleth in Jacob, Even to the ends of the earth. Selah. ff87 14 And they will return at evening; They will bark like a dog, And go round about the city.
15 They will wander up and down for food; If they be not satisfied they will even stay all night.
16 But as for me, I will sing of thy strength, I will praise in the morning thy mercy; For thou hast been a fortress to me, And a refuge in the day of my trouble.
17 My strength is with thee, I will sing psalms; For God is my fortress, the God of my mercy.
PSALM 60
*To the Chief Musician upon Shushan Eduth. Michtam of David to teach.* *When he fought against the Syrians of Mesopotamia and against the Syrians* *of Zobah; and when Joab, having returned, smote of the Edomites in the* *Valley of Salt twelve thousand*
1 O God! thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us; Thou hast been angry, O return to us!
2 To tremble thou hast made the earth; Thou hast caused it to open wide; Heal the breaches thereof for it shaketh.
3 Thou hast showed to thy people a hard thing, Thou hast made us drunk with the wine of stupefaction.
4 Thou hast given to those who fear thee a banner, That it may be displayed before thy truth. Selah.
5 That thy beloved ones may be delivered, Save with thy right hand and hear me.
6 God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice: I will divide Shechem, And the valley of Succoth I will measure.
7 Mine shall be Gilead, and mine shall be Manasseh; And Ephraim shall be the strength of my head; Judah, my lawgiver.
8 Moab shall be the pot for my washing; Over Edom will I cast my shoe; O Palestina! triumph thou over me.
9 Who will bring me into the city fortified? Who will lead me into Edom?
10 Wilt not thou, O God! who hadst cast us off? [thou] O God! [who] didst not go forth with our armies?
11 Grant us relief from trouble, For vain is the help of man.
12 Through God we shall do valiantly: And he it is who shall tread down our adversaries.
PSALM 61
*To the Chief Musician upon Neginoth. A Psalm of David*
1 Hear, O God! my cry, Attend to my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth to thee will I cry, when vexed is my heart: To the rock which is higher than I thou shalt lead me.
3 For thou hast been a hope to me, A tower of strength from the face of the enemy.
4 I will dwell in thy tabernacle for ever; I will be safe under the covert of thy wings. Selah.
5 For thou, O God! hast heard my vows: Thou hast given an inheritance to those who fear thy name.
6 Days upon days to the king thou shalt add, His years shall be as many generations.
7 He shall dwell for ever in the presence of God: Mercy and truth do thou prepare: thou shalt preserve him.
8 So will I sing unto thy name for ever, That I may perform my vows every day.
PSALM 62
*To the Chief Musician upon Jeduthun. A Psalm of David*
1 Nevertheless towards God silent is my soul: From him is my salvation.
2 Nevertheless he is my reek and my salvation, My fortress: therefore I shall not be moved greatly.
3 How long will ye continue to lay snares against a man? Ye shall be slain all of you: As an inclining wall shall ye be, and a fence that is shaken.
4 Yet from his elevation they consult to east him down: They delight in falsehood: With their mouth they bless, And in their hearts they curse. Selah. Nevertheless towards God be thou silent O my soul: For from him is my expectation.
6 Nevertheless he only is my rock, and my salvation: My fortress; I shall not fall.
7 In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength; my hope is in God.
8 Hope in him at all times, O ye people! Pour out before his face your hearts: God is our hope. Selah.
9 Nevertheless vanity are the sons of Adam; A lie the sons of men: When put all together in a balance they are found lighter than vanity itself. ff88 10 Trust not in oppression and robbery; be not vain: [Upon] riches if they abound set not your heart.
11 Once God hath spoken; Twice this I have heard, “That power belongeth to God; “ And to thee, O Lord! belongeth mercy; Truly thou wilt render to every man according to his work.
PSALM 63
*A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judea*
1 O God! my God art thou; Early will I seek thee: Thirsted for thee hath my soul, Longed for thee hath my flesh, In this land [that is] inhospitable and dry, without water.
2 Thus in the sanctuary have I beheld thee, To see thy power and thy glory.
3 Because better is thy mercy than life, My lips shall praise thee.
4 Thus will I bless thee in my life; In thy name I will lift up my hands.
5 As with marrow and farness satisfied shall be my soul, And with lips of rejoicing shall my mouth praise thee.
6 Surely I will remember thee upon my bed; In the watches of the night I will meditate upon thee;
7 Because thou hast been a help to me: And in the shadow of thy wings I will shout for joy.
8 Cleaved hath my soul to [literally after] thee; Sustain me shall thy right hand.
9 And they whilst they seek to destroy my soul, Shall go into the lowest parts of the earth.
10 They shall east him down to the edge of the sword: The portion of foxes they shall be.
11 But the king shall rejoice in God, And glory shall every one who sweareth by him: For stopped shall be the mouth of those who speak falsehood.
PSALM 64
*To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David*
1 Hear, O God! my voice in my prayer: From fear of the enemy preserve my life.
2 Hide me from the counsel of malignant men — From the assembly of tire workers of iniquity.
3 For they have sharpened as a sword their tongue; They have directed for their arrow a bitter word.
4 To shoot in secret at the innocent man: Suddenly they will shoot and not fear.
5 They encourage themselves in an impious action; They talk together of secretly laying snares; They say, “Who shall see them?”
6 They have searched out iniquities, They have accomplished a searching search: And the inward part of each of them and the heart [is] deep.
7 But God shall shoot at them an arrow; Suddenly shall they be wounded.
8 And they shall make their own tongue fall upon themselves, And flee away shall all who see them.
9 And see shall all men, and shall declare the work of God, And his doing they shall understand.
10 Rejoice shall the righteous in Jehovah, and they shall hope in him; And glory shall all the upright in heart.
PSALM 65
*To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song*
1 For thee waiteth praise, O God! in Zion; And to thee performed shall be the vow.
2 O thou who hearest prayer! To thee shall all flesh come.
3 Words of iniquity ff89 have prevailed against me: Our crimes thou shalt expiate.
4 Blessed is he whom thou wilt choose, and cause to approach to thee; He shall dwell in thy courts: We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house — Of the sanctuary of thy palace.
5 Terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation! The hope of all the ends of the earth, And of the far off places of the sea.
6 Establishing the mountains by his power, ff90 Being girded with might.
7 Stilling the noise of the seas, And the noise of their waves, the tumults of the nations.
8 And afraid shall be the dwellers in the ends of the earth at thy signs; The outgoings of the morning and evening thou shalt make to shout for joy.
9 Thou hast visited the earth, and watered her; Thou hast abundantly enriched her: The river of God is full of waters: Thou wilt prepare their corn, For so thou hast prepared her.
10 Her furrows thou dost saturate, Thou makest the rain to fall into her ridges, With showers thou dost moisten her, Her buddings thou dost bless.
11 Thou crownest the year with thy beneficence, And thy paths will drop fatness.
12 They drop upon the dwellings of the wilderness; And with gladness the hills shall be girded.
13 Clothed are the pastures with flocks; And the valleys are covered with corn; They shout for joy, they also sing.
PSALM 66
*To the Chief Justice,. A Song of a Psalm*
1 Shout joyfully to God all the earth, 2 Sing the glory of his name, Make glorious his praise.
3 Say unto God: “How terrible art thou in thy works! “Through the greatness of thy power shall thy enemies feign submission unto thee.
4 “All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing to thee, “They shall hymn thy name.” Selah.
5 Come ye, and see the works of God: He is terrible in his doing towards the sons of men.
6 He turned the sea into dry land; Through the river ff91 they passed on foot; There we were glad in him.
7 He ruleth by his might over the world; ff92 His eyes upon the nations are fixed: The rebels shall not exalt themselves. Selah.
8 Bless, O ye people! our God, And resound the voice of his praise.
9 Who hath brought our souls into life, And hath not suffered our feet to fall.
10 For thou hast proved us, O God! Thou hast tried us as silver is tried:
11 Thou hast brought us into the net Thou hast laid restraint upon our loins;
12 Thou hast made man to ride over our heads; We have come into fire and water; And thou hast brought us into a place of abundance.
13 I will come into thy house with burnt-offerings; I will pay thee my vows,
14 Which my lips have uttered, And my mouth hath spoken in my affliction.
15 Burnt-offerings of fat lambs I will offer to thee with incense of rams; I will bring bullocks with goats. Selah.
16 Come, hear, and I will tell all you who fear God, What he hath done for my soul.
17 To him with my mouth I cried, And I have exalted him with my tongue.
18 If I have regarded iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear me.
19 But truly heard me hath God; He hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God who hath not turned away my prayer, Nor his mercy from me.
PSALM 67
*To the Chief Musician on Neginoth. A Psalm [*or*] Song*
1 May God have compassion upon us, and bless us; May he cause his countenance to shine upon us. Selah.
2 That thy way may be known upon the earth, Among all nations thy salvation.
3 Let the peoples praise thee, O God! Let all the peoples celebrate thee.
4 Let the peoples rejoice and exult, For he shall judge the peoples with rectitude, And the nations upon earth thou shalt guide. Selah.
5 Let the peoples celebrate thee, O God! Let all the peoples celebrate thee:
6 The earth hath given her increase; God [even] our own God will bless us.
7 God will bless us; And fear him shall all the ends of the earth.
PSALM 68
*To the Chief Musician. A Psalm [ορ Song of David*
1 Arise shall God: scattered shall be his enemies; And flee from before his face shall those who hate him.
2 As smoke is driven away thou shalt drive them away; As wax melteth before the fire, perish shall the ungodly from before the face of God.
3 But the righteous shall rejoice, They shell exult before God, And leap for joy.
4 Sing ye unto God, sing psalms to his name; Exalt him who rideth upon the clouds whose name is Jah, And exult before him.
5 The father of the orphans, and the judge of the widows, Is God in the habitation of his holiness.
6 God who causeth the solitary to dwell in a family, Who bringeth forth those who are bound with chains: But rebels shall dwell in a dry land.
7 O God! when thou well test forth before thy people, When thou marchedst through the wilderness; Selah:
8 The earth was moved, Also the heavens dropped at the presence of this God: Sinai at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 A liberal rain thou shalt make to fall, O God! upon thy inheritance, And when it is weary thou refreshest it.
10 Thy congregation shall dwell therein: Thou wilt provide in thy goodness for the poor, O God!
11 The Lord shall give the word To the women who announce the great army.
12 Kings of armies shall flee — shall flee; And she who dwelleth within the house shall divide the spoils.
13 Though ye should lie among the pots, in the ashes, Yet shall ye be as the wings of the dove covered with silver, And which behind is as fine yellow gold.
14 When the Almighty scattered kings in it, It was white in Salmon.
15 The mountain of God, the mountain of Bashan, The mountain of heights, the mountain of Bashan.
16 Why leap ye, ye mountains of heights? The mountain in which it hath pleased God to dwell: Yea dwell in it will Jehovah for ever.
17 The chariots of God [are] twenty thousand thousands of angels: The Lord is among them, In the sanctuary as in Sinai.
18 Thou hast ascended on high; Thou hast led captive captivity; Thou hast received gifts among men; Yea even [among] rebels, That Jehovah God might dwell in the midst of his people.
19 Blessed be God day by day: This God will load us with deliverances. Selah.
20 Our God is the God of salvations; And to Jehovah Lord belong the issues of death.
21 Surely God shall wound the head of his enemies, The crown of the hair of him who walketh in his wickedness.
22 The Lord hath said: “From Bashan I will bring back; “I will bring back from the depths of the sea:
23 “That thy foot may be stained with blood, “The tongue of thy dogs even in that of thy enemies.”
24 They have seen thy goings, O God!— The goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary.
25 Before went the singers; [Then] followed the players on instruments; In the midst [were] the damsels striking the timbrels.
26 In the congregations bless ye God, [Even] the Lord, ye who are of the fountain of Israel!
27 There was little Benjamin their ruler, The princes of Judah in their assembly, The princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphthali.
28 Commanded hath thy God thy strength; Strengthen, O God! what thou hast wrought in us.
29 From thy temple upon Jerusalem To thee shall kings bring presents.
30 Destroy the company of spearmen, The assembly of bulls, with the calves of the peoples, Treading with their feet upon pieces of silver: Scatter thou the peoples that in wars delight.
31 Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall speedily stretch forth her hands to God.
32 O ye kingdoms of the earth! sing unto God: Sing psalms to the Lord. Selah.
33 To him who rideth upon the heavens of heavens which are of old: Lo! he shall send forth in his voice a voice of strength, 34 Ascribe ye strength to God over Israel; His majesty and his strength [are] in the clouds.
35 Terrible art thou, O God! out of thy holy places: The God of Israel himself shall give strength and might to his people. Blessed be God!
PSALM 69
*To the Chief Musician upon Shoshannim. Of David*
1 Save me, O God! For entered have the waters even to my soul.
2 I am sunk into deep mire where there is no standing place; I am come into the depths of waters, And the floods of water have overflowed me.
3 I am weary with crying, Hoarse is my throat become therewith; Failed have my eyes with waiting for my God.
4 More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause: Increased are those who desire to destroy me, [even] my lying adversaries: That which I took not by violence, then I restored it.
5 O God! thou knowest my foolishness, And my faults from thee are not hidden.
6 Let not those be ashamed in me that wait for thee, O Lord, Jehovah of armies! Let not those be put to shame in me who seek thee, O God of Israel!
7 For on thy account I have suffered reproach; Shame hath covered my face.
8 A stranger I have been to my brethren, And an alien I am become to the children of my mother.
9 For the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up; And the reproaches of those who reproached thee have fallen upon me.
10 And I wept, my soul fasted; And that was for a reproach to me.
11 And I made my garment sackcloth; And I was to them for a jest.
12 Defame me do those who sit in the gate; And I am the songs of those who drink intoxicating liquor.
13 But as for me my prayer [is] to thee, O Jehovah! In the time of thy favor, O God! In the multitude of thy mercy answer me, In the truth of thy salvation.
14 Rescue me from the mire that I may not sink; That I may be delivered from my adversaries, And from the depths of waters.
15 Let not the flood of waters overflow me; And let not the deep swallow me up; And let not the pit dose its mouth upon me.
16 Answer me, O Jehovah! for good is thy mercy: In the multitude of thy compassions look upon me.
17 And hide not thy face from thy servant, for I am afflicted: Hasten! answer me!
18 Draw near to my soul, redeem it: On account of my adversaries deliver me.
19 Thou knowest my reproach, and my confusion, and my ignominy: Before thee are all my adversaries.
20 Reproach hath broken my heart, and I am afflicted; And I looked for some one to show compassion, but there was none; For comforters, but I found them not.
21 And they put into my meat gall, And in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
22 Let their table be before them for a snare; And their prosperity for a net;
23 Darkened let be their eyes, that they may not see; And cause their loins continually to tremble.
24 Pour out upon them thy wrath; And let the fury of thy indignation take hold of them.
25 Let their palace be desolate; In their tents let there not be a dweller.
26 For him whom thou hast smitten they have persecuted; And to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded they have added.
27 Add iniquity to their iniquity; And let them not enter into thy righteousness.
28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; And with the righteous let them not be written.
29 But as for me I am poor and sorrowful: Thy salvation shall exalt me.
30 I will praise the name of God in a song, And I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
31 And this will please Jehovah More than a young bullock that hath horns and hoofs.
32 Seen it have the afflicted, And they shall rejoice at it who seek God; And live shall your heart.
33 For hearkened hath Jehovah to the afflicted; And his prisoners he hath not despised.
34 Praise him let heaven and earth; The seas and whatever creepeth in them.
35 For God will save Zion, And will build the cities of Judah; And they shall dwell there, And possess it by inheritance.
36 And the seed of his servants shall inherit it; And they who love his name shall dwell in it.
PSALM 70
*To the Chief Musician. Of David. To call to remembrance*
1 O God! to deliver me, O Jehovah! to my aid, hasten.
2 Let those be ashamed and confounded who seek after my soul; Let those be turned backward and put to confusion who desire my hurt.
3 Let those be destroyed for a reward of their shame, Who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
4 Exult and rejoice in thee let all who seek thee; And let those say, “For ever may God be magnified” — Those who love thy salvation.
5 But as for me I am poor and needy: O God! hasten to me: My help and my deliverer art thou: O Jehovah! delay not.
PSALM 71
1 In thee, O Jehovah! do I put my trust, Let me not be put to shame for ever.
2 In thy righteousness deliver me, and rescue me; Incline to me thy ear, and save me.
3 Be thou to me for a rock of strength, Into which I may enter at all times: Thou hast given commandment to save me; For my tower and my fortress art thou.
4 O my God! deliver me from the hand of the ungodly man, — From the hand of the wicked and violent men.
5 For thou art my expectation, O Lord Jehovah! My trust from my youth.
6 Upon thee have I been sustained from the womb; Out of my mother’s bowels thou art he who took me: Of thee is my praise continually.
7 As a prodigy I have been to the great ones, And yet thou art my strong confidence.
8 Filled shall be my mouth with thy praise, Daily with thy glory.
9 Cast me not off in the time of my old age: In the declining of my strength forsake me not.
10 For my enemies have spoken concerning me, And those who watch for my soul have consulted together, 11 Saying, “God hath forsaken him; “Follow after him, and ye shall take him; “For there is none to deliver him.”
12 O God! be not far from me: O my God! to my aid hasten.
13 Let those be put to shame, let those fail who are the adversaries of my soul: Let those be covered with reproach mid shame who seek my hurt.
14 But as for me continually will I hope, And will add to all thy praise.
15 My mouth shall tell of thy righteousness, Daily of thy salvation; For I know not the number thereof.
16 I will go in the strength of the Lord Jehovah! I will remember thy righteousness alone.
17 O God! thou hast taught me from my youth; And unto this time will I announce thy wonders.
18 And therefore ff93 in old age and gray hairs, O God! forsake me not, Until I have declared thy strength to the generation, To all who are to come thy might.
19 And thy righteousness, O God! is very high: For thou hast done great things: O God! who is like to thee?
20 Thou hast made me to see troubles many and grievous, But being turned thou wilt quicken me, And from the depths of the earth, being turned thou wilt raise me up.
21 Thou wilt multiply my greatness; And being turned thou wilt comfort me.
22 Moreover, I, even I, will sing to thee on instruments of music; ff94 For thy truth, O my God! I will sing psalms to thee upon the harp, O Holy One of Israel!
23 Exult shall my lips, when I sing psalms to thee; And my soul which thou hast redeemed.
24 Also my tongue daily shall declare thy righteousness; For they are put to shame, for they are disgraced, who seek my hurt.
PSALM 72
*Of Solomon*
1 O God! thy judgments give to the King, And thy righteousness to the son of the King 2 He shall judge thy people in righteousness, And thy poor ones in judgment.
3 Bring forth shall the mountains peace to the people, And the hills in righteousness.
4 He shall judge the poor ones of the people; He shall save the children of the afflicted; And shall break in pieces the calumniator.
5 They shall fear thee with the sun; And before the moon the generation of generations shall fear thee.
6 He shall descend as rain upon the mown grass; As the showers which water the earth.
7 Flourish in his days shall the righteous; And abundance of peace until there be no more moon.
8 And he shall have dominion from sea to sea, And from the river even to the ends of the earth.
9 Before him shall bow the inhabitants of the desert, And his enemies shall lick the dust.
10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles a present shall bring: The kings of Sheba and Seba a gift shall offer to him.
11 And all kings shall prostrate themselves before him; All nations shall serve him.
12 For he shall deliver the poor who crieth to him, And the needy who hath no helper.
13 He will have compassion upon the indigent and the poor one, And the souls of the poor ones he will save.
14 From fraud and violence he will redeem their souls, And precious shall be their blood in his eyes.
15 And he shall live, and there shall be given to him of the gold of Sheba, And prayer shall be made for him continually; Daily shall he be blessed.
16 There shall be sown an handful of corn in the earth on the top of the mountains; The fruit thereof shall be shaken like [that] of Lebanon. And they shall go forth from the city as a plant of the earth.
17 His name shall be for ever; In presence of the sun propagated shall be his name: And bless themselves in him shall all nations, And blessed they shall call him.
18 Blessed be Jehovah God! the God of Israel! ff95 Who doeth wonderful things alone.
19 And blessed be his glorious name for ever; And let all the earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen.
20 Finished are the prayers of David, the son of Jesse.
PART THIRD96
PSALM 73
*A Psalm of Asaph*
1 Yet God is good to Israel, To those who are right in heart.
2 As for me, wellnigh slipped had my feet, My steps were almost gone:
3 For I was envious at the foolish, On seeing the prosperity of the ungodly.
4 For there are no bands to their death, And vigorous is their strength.
5 In the [common] trouble of man they are not; And with other men they are not scourged.
6 Therefore encompass them as a chain doth pride; Covered them hath the raiment of violence.
7 Their eye projecteth through fatness; They have passed beyond the thoughts of their heart.
8 They break forth, and talk wickedly of extortion: From on high do they speak.
9 They have set against the heaven their mouth, And their tongue walketh through the earth.
10 On this account his people will return hither, And waters of a full cup will be wrung out to them.
11 And they say, “How doth God know? “And is there knowledge in the Most High? “
12 Behold these are the ungodly, and [yet]. they are in quiet for ever: They heap up riches.
13 Surely in vain I have purified my heart, And washed every day my hands:
14 And I have been scourged every day, And my chastisement [has been] every morning.
15 If I have said, “I will speak thus,” Behold! the generation of thy children: I have transgressed.
16 And although I applied my mind to know this, A pain fill thing it was in mine eyes, 17 Until I entered into the sanctuaries of God, And understood their end.
18 Surely in slippery places thou hast set them; Thou shalt east them down into destructions.
19 How have they been destroyed as in a moment! They have perished, they have been consumed with terrors.
20 As it were a dream after a man is awakened; O Lord! in awaking, their image thou wilt render contemptible.
21 For in a ferment was my heart, And in my reins I was pierced.
22 And I myself [was] foolish and knew not any thing; As the beasts have I been before thee.
23 Nevertheless I have been continually with thee; Thou hast held my right hand.
24 With thy counsel thou shalt guide me; And at length to glory thou shalt take me.
25 Whom have I in heaven but thee? And another with time I have not desired on the earth.
26 Failed have my flesh and my heart; But the strength of my heart and my portion is God for ever.
27 For lo! those who depart from thee shall perish: Thou hast destroyed every one who goeth a whoring from thee.
28 As for me, to draw near to God is good for me: I have put in the Lord Jehovah my trust, That I may tell of all thy works.
PSALM 74
*An Instruction of Asaph*
1 Wherefore, O God! hast thou cast us off for ever? [Why] smoketh thy wrath against the flock of thy pastures?
2 Remember thy congregation which thou hast possessed of old; ff97 Which thou hast redeemed, the rod of thy inheritance, This Mount Zion in which thou hast dwelt.
3 Lift up thy strokes to desolations perpetual, Against every enemy who doeth mischief to the sanctuary.
4 Roared like lions have thy adversaries in the midst of thy sanctuaries; They have set up their signs for signs.
5 He was renowned as doing an excellent work Who lifted up the axes upon the thick trees. ff98 6 And now the carved works thereof together, With the hatchet and with hammers they break in pieces.
7 They have set on fire thy sanctuaries; Leveling it with the ground, they have polluted the dwelling-place of thy name.
8 They have said in their heart, “Let us destroy them altogether.” They have burned all the tabernacles of God in the land.
9 Our signs we see not; There is no longer a prophet, Nor is there with us one who knoweth how long! — 10 How long, O God! shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?
11 How long wilt thou withdraw thy hand, and thy right hand? In the midst, of thy bosom consume them.
12 But God is my king from the beginning, Working salvations in the midst of the earth.
13 Thou didst divide ff99 by thy power the sea; Thou didst break the heads of dragons in the waters.
14 Thou didst break the head of the leviathan; Thou gavest him for food to thy people in the wilderness.
15 Thou didst cleave the fountain and the torrent: Thou didst dry up mighty rivers.
16 Thine is the day; thine also is the night: Thou hast ordained the light and the sun.
17 Thou hast fixed all the boundaries of the earth: The summer and the winter thou hast made.
18 Remember this: the enemy hath reproached Jehovah; And a worthless people hath done despite to thy name.
19 Give not to the beast the soul of thy turtle dove: The congregation of thy poor ones forget not for ever.
20 Have regard to thy covenant; For filled are the dark places of the earth with the abodes of violence.
21 Let not the afflicted one return ashamed; Let the poor and needy one praise thy name.
22 Arise, O God! plead thy own cause: Remember thy reproach, which is done thee by the foolish man daily.
23 Forget not the voice of thy adversaries: The tumult of those who rise up against thee ascendeth continually.
PSALM 75
*To the Chief Musician. Destroy not. A Psalm of Asaph. A song*
1 We will celebrate thee, O God! we will celebrate thee; And near is thy name: they will declare thy wonders.
2 When I shall have taken the congregation, I in uprightness will judge.
3 Dissolved is the earth, and all the inhabitants thereof: will establish the pillars of it. Selah.
4 I said to the fools, “Act not foolishly; “ And to the ungodly, “Raise not up the horn.”
5 Raise not up on high your horn; And speak not with a stiff neck. g. For neither from the east, nor from the west, Nor from the wilderness are exaltations.
7 For God is judge: tie bringeth low, and he setteth up.
8 For a cup is in the hand of Jehovah, and the wine is turbid; It is full of mixture, and he shall pour forth of it. Surely the dregs thereof they shall wring out;. And drink of it shall all the wicked of the earth.
9 But as for me I will publish for ever, I will sing psalms to the God of Jacob.
10 And all the horns of the ungodly I will break; But exalted shall be the horns of the righteous.
PSALM 76
*To the Chief Musician on Neginoth. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song*
1 Known in Judah is God; In Israel great is his name.
2 And in Salem was his tabernacle, And his dwelling-place in Zion.
3 There he broke the arrows of the bow, The shield, and the sword, and the battle. Selah.
4 More glorious, more terrible art thou Than the mountains of prey.
5 Spoiled were the stout in heart, They slept their sleep: And none of the men of might have found their hands.
6 At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob! Cast into a deep sleep were the chariot and the horse.
7 Thou art terrible [even] thou; And who shall stand before thy face when thou art angry?
8 From the heavens thou hast made judgment to be heard: The earth was afraid and was still,
9 When God arose to judgment, To save all the meek of the earth. Selah.
10 Surely the wrath of men shall praise thee, The remainder of wrath thou wilt restrain.
11 Vow and pay to Jehovah your God: Let all who are round about him bring a present to the terrible one.
12 He will cut off the spirit of princes: He is terrible to the kings of the earth.
PSALM 77
*To the Chief Musician upon Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph*
1 My voice [I lifted up] to God, and I cried; My voice [I lifted up] to God, and he heard me.
2 In the day of my affliction the Lord I sought: My hand in the night was stretched out and relaxed not; Refuse consolation did my soul.
3 I will remember God, and will be disquieted; I will meditate, and oppressed with sorrow shall be my spirit. Selah.
4 Thou hast held the watches of my eyes: I am troubled, and will not speak.
5 I have recounted the days of old, The years of ages past.
6 I will call to remembrance my song in the night: With my heart I will meditate, And search diligently shall my spirit.
7 For ever will the Lord east off? And will he be favorable no more?
8 Gone for ever is his mercy? Fail doth his oracle from generation to generation?
9 Forgotten to be merciful hath God? Hath he shut up in anger his compassions? Selah.
10 And I said my disease [is only for a season;] The years of the right hand of the Most High [I will wait for.] 11 I will remember the works of God; Surely I will remember thy wonders from the beginning.
12 And I will meditate on all thy works, And on thy doings I will muse.
13 O God! in the sanctuary are thy ways: What god is so great as God?
14 Thou art the God who doest wonders; Thou hast made known among the peoples thy strength.
15 Thou hast redeemed by [thy] arm thy people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.
16 See thee did the waters, O God! see thee did the waters; They were afraid; also tremble did the deeps.
17 The clouds poured out waters; The heavens gave forth a voice: Also thine arrows went abroad.
18 The voice of thy thunder was in the circuit, The lightnings illumined the world; The earth trembled and was shaken.
19 In the sea are thy ways, And thy paths in the great waters; And thy footsteps are not known.
20 Thou leadest like sheep thy people By the hand of Moses and Aaron.
PSALM 78
*A lesson of Instruction [οφ Asaph*
1 Give ear, O my people! to my law: Incline your ears to the words of my month.
2 I will open in a parable my mouth; I will utter enigmas from ancient Sae.
3 What we have heard and known, And our’ fathers have related to us, 4 We will not conceal from their children to the generation to come, Recounting the praises of Jehovah and his might, And the wonders which he hath done.
5 And he established a testimony in, Jacob, And a law he appointed in Israel; For lie commanded our fathers To make them known to their children;
6 That the generations to come might know them, That the children to be born might arise, And declare them to their children.
7 That they might set in God their hope, And not forget the works of God; But that his commandments they might observe, 8 And not be as their fathers, A generation rebellious and provoking; A generation which set not their heart might, And whose spirit was not faithful towards God.
9 The children of Ephraim, armed [and] shooting with the bow, Were turned back in the day of battle.
10 They kept not the covenant of God, And in his law they refused to walk.
11 And they forget his works, And the wonders which he had shown them.
12 In the sight of their fathers he wrought marvelously; In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
13 He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through, And made the waters to stand as an heap.
14 And he led them by a cloud in the day; And all the night by the light of fire.
15 He clave the rocks in the wilderness, And made them to drink in great deeps.
16 And he brought forth streams from the rock, And made the waters to descend like rivers.
17 Yet they continued still to sin against him, To provoke the Most High in the wilderness.
18 And they tempted God in their heart, By asking food for their soul.
19 And they spake against God: They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?”
20 Behold! he smote the reek, and gush out did the waters; And rivers overflowed. “Can he give bread also? “Will he prepare flesh for his people?”
21 Therefore Jehovah heard and was wroth: And a fire was kindled in Jacob: And wrath also ascended against Israel;
22 Because they believed not in God, And trusted not in his salvation.
23 But he had commanded the clouds from above, And the doors of heaven he had opened, 24 And had rained down upon them manna for food, And the corn of heaven he had given them:
25 The bread of the mighty ones man had eaten: Meat he had sent them to the full.
26 He caused to blow an east wind in the heavens; And he raised up by his power the south wind.
27 And he rained upon them flesh as dust, And as the sand of the sea leathered fowl;
28 And he caused it to fall in the midst of his camp, Round about his tabernacles.
29 And they did eat and were filled exceedingly, And their desire he brought to them.
30 They were not estranged from their desire: The meat was still in their mouth,
31 When the wrath of God ascended against them, And slew their fat ones, And brought low the chosen of Israel.
32 In all these things they sinned still, And believed not his wonders.
33 And he consumed in vanity their days, And their years in haste.
34 When he slew them, they sought him; They returned, and hastened early to God.
35 And they remembered that God was their Rock, And that the Most High God was their Redeemer.
36 And they flattered [him] with their mouth, And with their tongue they lied to him:
37 But their heart was not right before him, And they were not faithful in his covenant.
38 Yet he who is compassionate expiated their iniquity, And did not destroy them: And he multiplied to turn away his anger, And did not stir up all his indignation.
39 And he remembered that they were flesh; A breath that passeth, and returneth not.
40 How often did they provoke him in the desert, [And] grieve him in the wilderness!
41 And they returned and tempted God, And the Holy One of Israel they limited.
42 They remembered not his hand In the day that he redeemed them from the oppressor, 43 When he set in Egypt his signs, And his miracles in the field of Zoan.
44 When he turned into blood their rivers; And their streams, that they might not drink of them.
45 He sent among them a mixture which devoured them; And the frog which destroyed them.
46 And he gave to the caterpillar their fruit; And their labors to the locusts. ff100 47 And he destroyed with hail their vine, And their wild fig-trees with hailstones.
48 And he gave lip to the hail their cattle, And their flocks to thunderbolts.
49 He sent upon them the fierceness of his wrath, Fury, anger, and affliction, A mission of evil angels.
50 He made a path for his anger: He kept not from death their soul, And their cattle to the pestilence he shut up.
51 And he smote all the firstborn in Egypt: The beginning of [their] strength in the tents of Ham.
52 And he made to go forth like sheep his people, And led them like a flock in the wilderness.
53 And he conducted them in safety, and they were not afraid: And their enemies cover did the sea.
54 And he brought them to the border of his holiness, This mountain, which his right hand acquired.
55 And he expelled from before their face the heathen; And made them to fall into the lot of all inheritance; And caused to dwell in their tents the children of Israel.
56 But they tempted and provoked God Most High, And his testimonies they kept not.
57 And they turned back and dealt perfidiously like their fathers: They started aside like a bow that is deceitful.
58 And they provoked him to anger with their high places; And with their graven images they moved him to anger.
59 Hear it did God, and was wroth, And he abhorred exceedingly Israel.
60 And he forsook the habitation of Shiloh, The tabernacle where he dwelt among men.
61 And he gave into captivity his strength, And his beauty into the hand of the enemy.
62 And he shut up to the sword his people, And with his own inheritance was wroth.
63 Their chosen devour did the fire, And their virgins were not applauded.
64 Their priests by the sword did fall; And their widows made no lamentation.
65 But the Lord awoke as one asleep, As a mighty man who crieth out by reason of wine.
66 And he smote his enemies behind; Everlasting disgrace he put upon them.
67 And he rejected the tabernacle of Joseph, And the tribe of Ephraim he chose not:
68 But he chose the tribe of Judah, The mountain of Zion, which lie loved:
69 And built like high places his sanctuary, Like the earth which he hath founded for ever.
70 And he chose David his servant, And took him from the folds of sheep:
71 From following the suckling ewes he took him, To feed Jacob his people, And Israel his inheritance:
72 And he fed them in the integrity of his heart, And by the prudence of his hands he guided there.
PSALM 79
*A Psalm of Asaph*
1 O God! come have the heathen into thy inheritance; They have polluted the temple of thy holiness; They have laid Jerusalem in heaps. [fowls of the heavens;
2 They have given the dead bodies of thy servants for food to the fowls of the heavens; The flesh of thy meek ones to the beasts of the earth.
3 They have shed their blood like water around Jerusalem: And there was not one to bury them.
4 We have been a reproach to our neighbors; A scorn and a derision to those who are around us.
5 How long, O Jehovah! wilt thou be wroth for ever? Burn like fire shall thy jealousy?
6 Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen who have not known thee, And upon the kingdoms which upon thy name do not call:
7 For they have devoured Jacob, And his dwelling they have laid waste.
8 Remember not against us former iniquities: Make haste, let thy compassions prevent us; For we are afflicted exceedingly.
9 Help us, O God of our salvation! for the glory of thy name; And deliver us, and be merciful to our sins, for the sake of thy name.
10 Wherefore should the heathen say, “Where is their God?” Let be made known among the heathen in our sight The vengeance of the blood of thy servants which is shed.
11 Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thy face: According to the greatness of thy arm, Reserve the children of death: ff101 12 And recompense our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom, Their reproach with which they have reproached thee, O Jehovah!
13 And we thy people, and the sheep of thy pastures, Will confess to thee for ever; From generation to generation declaring thy praise.
PSALM 80
*To the Chief Musician upon Shoshannim Eduth. A Psalm of Asaph*
1 O Shepherd of Israel, give ear! Who leadest Joseph like a flock; Thou who sittest between the cherubim, shine forth.
2 Before Ephraim, and Benjamin, and Manasseh, Stir up thy strength, and come for our salvation.
3 Turn us again, O God! and cause to shine thy face, And we shall be safe.
4 O Jehovah God of armies! How long wilt thou be incensed against the prayer of thy people?
5 Thou hast fed us with bread of tears; And hast given us tears to drink in great measure.
6 Thou hast made us a strife to our neighbors: And our enemies laugh at us among themselves.
7 O God of armies! turn us again, And cause to shine thy face upon us, And we shall be safe.
8 A vine out of Egypt thou hast brought: Thou hast expelled the heathen, and planted it,.
9 Thou hast cleansed the ground before it: Thou hast rooted its roots, And it hath filled the land.
10 Covered were the mountains with its shadow, And its branches were like the cedars of God.
11 It sent forth its branches to the sea, And to the river its shoots.
12 Why then hast thou broken down its hedges, So that tear it in pieces do all who pass by the way?
13 Wasted it hath the boar out of the forest; And the wild beast of the field hath eaten it up.
14 O God of armies! return, I beseech thee, Look down from heaven, and behold, And visit this vine, 15 And the vineyard which planted hath thy right hand, And [look] upon the shoot ff102 which thou hast strengthened for thyself.
16 It is burnt with fire; it is cut down; At the rebuke of thy countenance they perish.
17 Let thy hand be upon the Man of thy right hand, Upon the son of man whom thou hast strengthened for thyself, 18 And we will not go back from thee: Thou shalt quicken us, and upon thy name we will call.
19 O Jehovah, God of armies! turn us again; Cause to shine thy face, And we shall be safe.
PSALM 81
*To the Chief Musician upon Gittith. Of Asaph*
1 Exult to God our strength: Shout for joy to the God of Jacob.
2 Take a song, and bring forth the timbrel, The harp of pleasantness with the nablum. ff103 3 Sound the trumpet ff104 at the new moon; At the time appointed on the day of our sacrifice.
4 For a statute to Israel is this, A judgment to the God of Jacob.
5 For a testimony in Joseph he set it, When he went forth over the land of Egypt! A language which I understood not I heard.
6 “I removed from the burden his shoulder: “His hands from the pots were removed.
7 “In trouble thou didst cry, and I rescued thee: “I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: “I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah.
8 “Hear, O my people! and I will protest to thee: “O Israel! if thou wilt hearken to me.
9 “Let there not be in thee a strange god: “Neither worship thou a foreign god.
10 “I am Jehovah thy God, “Who brought thee out of the land of Egypt: “Open wide thy mouth, and I will fill it.
11 “But my people hearkened not to my voice, “And Israel would have none of me.
12 “And I gave them up to the hardness of their heart: “They shall walk in their own counsels.
13 “O if my people had hearkened to me! “If Israel in my ways had walked!
14 “Soon their enemies I would have brought low, “And against their adversaries I would have turned my hand:
15 “The haters of Jehovah would have lied to him, “And their time should have been for ever:
16 “And I would have fed them with the fat of corn: “And from the rock with honey I would have satisfied thee.”
PSALM 82
*A Psalm of Asaph*
1 God sitteth in the assembly of God: In the midst of the gods he will judge.
2 How long will ye judge unjustly? And the faces of the ungodly will ye lift up? Selah.
3 Judge the poor and the orphan; The helpless and the destitute justify ye.
4 Rescue the poor one and the afflicted one: From the hand of the ungodly ones deliver them.
5 But they know not, neither do they understand any thing: In darkness they walk, Although moved are all the foundations of the earth.
6 As for me, I have said, “Ye are gods, “And children of the Most High all of you:
7 “Surely as a man ye shall die; “And as one [of the people,] O princes! ye shall fall.”
8 Arise, O God! judge the earth: For thou shalt inherit all nations.
PSALM 83
*A Song [ορ Psalm, of Asaph*
1 O God! keep not silence with thyself; Hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God!
2 For behold! thy enemies make a tumult: And those who hate thee have lifted up the head.
3 Against thy people they have craftily formed a design, And have consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, “Come and let us cut them off from being a nation; “And let there be no remembrance of the name of Israel any more.”
5 For they have consulted with the heart together; Against thee a covenant they have made.
6 The tents of Edom, and of the Ishmaelites; Of Moab and of the Hagarenes.
7 Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; The Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre.
8 Also Assur is associated with them: They have been an arm to the sons of Lot. Selah.
9 Do to them as to the Midianites, As to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook Kishon.
10 They perished at Endor; They became manure for the earth.
11 Make them, [even] their princes, like Oreb, and like Zeeb; And like Zebah, and like Zalmunna, all their princes.
12 Who have said, “Let us take in possession for ourselves “The habitations of God.”
13 O my God! make them like a whirling ball; Like stubble before the wind.
14 As fire burneth a forest, And as the flame kindleth the mountains, 15 So pursue them with thy tempest, And with thy whirlwind terrify them.
16 Fill their faces with shame; That they may seek thy name, O Jehovah!
17 Let them be ashamed, and terrified for ever; ff105 And let them be confounded, and perish.
18 And let them know that thou, even thou, art, thy name Jehovah, Thou alone the Most High over all the earth.
PSALM 84
*To The Chief Musician Upon Gittith. A Psalm of the sons of Korah*
1 How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Jehovah of armies!
2 Long, yea, even faint doth my soul after the courts of Jehovah: My heart and my flesh leap for joy towards the living God.
3 Also the sparrow hath found a house for herself, And the swallow a nest for herself, Where she may place her young ones: O thine altars! thou Jehovah of armies! my King and my God!
4 Blessed are those who dwell in thy house: Continually they will be praising thee. Selah.
5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; The ways [are] in their heart.
6 They passing through the valley of weeping, will together make it a fountain; Also the cisterns the rain will cover.
7 They will journey from strength to strength; Seen will be the God of gods in Zion.
8 O Jehovah, God of armies! hear my prayer: Hearken, O God of Jacob! Selah.
9 Our shield do thou behold, O God! And look upon the face of thy Christ.
10 For better is one day in thy courts than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, Than dwell in the tents of ungodliness.
11 For a sun and shield is Jehovah God to us; Grace and glory give will Jehovah; He will not withhold any good from those who walk uprightly.
12 O Jehovah of armies! Blessed is the man who confideth in thee.
PSALM 85
*To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah*
1 Thou hast been favorable, O Jehovah! to thy land: Thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.
2 Thou hast taken away the iniquity of thy people: Thou hast covered all their sins. Selah 3 Thou hast turned away all thy anger: Thou hast drawn back the fury of thy indignation.
4 Turn us, O God of our salvation! And relax thy anger against us.
5 Wilt thou for ever be angry with us? Wilt thou prolong thy wrath from age to age?
6 Wilt not thou being turned to us quicken us? And thy people will rejoice in thee.
7 Show us, O Jehovah! thy mercy; and thy salvation grant unto us.
8 I will hear what God Jehovah will speak: Surely he will speak peace to his people and to his meek ones, And they will not return to folly.
9 Surely near to those who fear him is his salvation, That dwell may glory in our land.
10 Mercy and truth shall meet together; Righteousness and peace shall kiss [each other.] 11 Truth out of the earth shall spring up; And righteousness from heaven shall look down.
12 Likewise Jehovah will give that which is good: And our land shall yield her increase.
13 Righteousness before him shall go; And shall set in the way her steps.
PSALM 86
*A Prayer of David*
1 Incline, O Jehovah, thy ear, answer me; For poor and needy am I.
2 Keep my soul, for I am meek: O thou, my God! save thy servant who trusteth in thee.
3 Have compassion upon me, O Jehovah! For to thee do I cry daily.
4 Gladden the soul of thy servant; For to thee, O Lord! my soul I lift up.
5 For thou, O Lord! art good, and gracious, Plenteous in mercy to all who call upon thee.
6 Listen, O Jehovah! to my prayer, Attend to the voice of my supplications.
7 In the day of my trouble I will cry to thee: For thou wilt answer me.
8 There is none like unto thee, O Lord! among the gods; And there is none [who can work] according to thy works.
9 All the nations which thou hast made shall come, And shall worship before thy face, O Lord! And glory they shall give to thy name:
10 For great art thou, And doing wonders, thou God alone.
11 Show me, O Jehovah! thy ways; I will walk in thy truth: Unite my heart to fear thy name.
12 I will celebrate thee, O Lord my God! with my whole heart; And I will glorify thy name for ever;
13 For thy mercy hath been great towards me; And thou hast delivered my soul from the lower grave.
14 O God! the proud have risen up against me, And a company of mighty men have sought after my soul; And they have not set thee before them.
15 And thou, O Lord! [art] a God compassionate and gracious; Slow to anger; and plenteous in mercy and truth.
16 Look to me, and have pity upon me: Give thy strength to thy servant, And save the son of thy handmaid.
17 Make with me a sign for good: And see shall my adversaries and be ashamed; For thou, O Jehovah! hast secured me and comforted me.
PSALM 87
*A Psalm [ορ Song of the sons of Korah*
1 His foundations [are] in the holy mountains.
2 Love doth Jehovah the gates of Zion More than all the tabernacles of Jacob.
3 Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God! Selah.
4 I will make mention of Rahab, and Babel among those who know me: Behold the Philistines, and Tyre, with Ethiopia, He is born there! Selah.
5 And of Zion it shall be said, “Man and man is born in her; “And the Most High himself will establish her.”
6 The Lord will recount when he writeth the peoples, “He is born there.” Selah.
7 And the singers as the players upon instruments: All my springs are in thee.
PSALM 88
*A Song of a Psalm of the sons of Korah. To the Chief Musician, upon* *Machalath, to make humble. An instruction of Heman the Ezrahite*
1 O Jehovah! God of my salvation! By day I cry, by night before thee.
2 Come into thy presence let my prayer; Incline thy ear to my cry;
3 For filled with troubles is my soul; And my life to hell ff106 hath drawn near.
4 I am counted with those who go down to the sepulcher, ff107 I have been as a man who hath no strength:
5 Free among the dead, As the slain lying in the grave, Whom thou rememberest no more, And who from thy hand are cut off.
6 Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, In thick darkness, in the deeps.
7 Upon me lieth heavy thy indignation; And with all thy waves thou hast afflicted me. Selah.
8 Thou hast removed my acquaintances from me: Thou hast made me abominations to them: I am shut up that I cannot go forth.
9 My eye mourneth because of my affliction; I invoke thee, O Jehovah! daily: I stretch out to thee my hands.
10 Wilt thou for the dead do a miracle? Shall the dead rising up praise thee? Selah.
11 Shall thy loving-kindness be declared in the grave? Thy truth in destruction?
12 Shall thy wonders be known in darkness? And thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But as for me to thee, O Jehovah! have I cried, And in the morning my prayer shall prevent thee.
14 Wherefore, O Jehovah! wilt thou reject my soul? [Wherefore] wilt thou hide thy face from me?
15 Afflicted am I, and ready to die from my youth; I have suffered thy terrors by doubting.
16 Passed over me hath thy fierce wrath: Thy terrors have cut me off.
17 They have encompassed me as waters daily; They have surrounded me together.
18 Thou hast removed from me lover and companion; And my acquaintances are darkness.
PSALM 89
*An Instruction of Ethan, the Ezrahite*
1 The mercies of Jehovah for ever will I sing: From generation to generation will I celebrate thy truth with my mouth.
2 For I have said, For ever Mercy shall be built up: The heavens thou shalt establish; thy truth [is] in them.
3 “I have made a covenant with my chosen: “I have sworn to David my servant:
4 “For ever will I establish thy seed, “And I will build up from age to age thy throne.” Selah.
5 And celebrate shall the heavens thy wondrous work, O Jehovah! Also thy truth in the congregation of the saints.
6 For who in the clouds can be compared to Jehovah? Who is like unto Jehovah among the sons of the gods?
7 God is terrible exceedingly in the assembly of the saints, And to be feared above all who are around him.
8 O Jehovah, God of armies! who is a strong God like thee? And thy truth is round about thee.
9 Thou governest the pride of the sea: When rise up do the waves thereof, thou restrainest them.
10 Thou hast overthrown Egypt as a wounded mail; With the arm of thy strength thou hast scattered thy enemies.
11 Thine are the heavens, thine also is the earth: The world, and the fullness thereof thou hast formed. ff108 12 The north and the south thou hast created: Tabor and Hermon in thy name shall exult.
13 Thou hast an arm of might: Thou wilt strengthen thy hand, Thou wilt exalt thy right hand.
14 Righteousness and judgment are the seat of thy throne: Mercy and truth shall go before thy face.
15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound! O Jehovah! in the brightness of thy countenance they shall walk.
16 In thy name shall they exult daily; And in thy righteousness shall they glory:
17 For the glory of their strength art thou; And in thy favor exalted shall be our horn.
18 For to Jehovah is our buckler; And to. the Holy One of Israel is our King.
19 Then thou spakest in vision to thy meek ones, And saidst, “I have laid help upon a Mighty One; “I have exalted one chosen from among the people.
20 “I have found David my servant; “With the oil of my holiness have I anointed him.
21 “Therefore, my hand shall be established with him: “Yea, my arm shall strengthen him.
22 “The enemy shall not exact upon him, “Nor shall the son of iniquity afflict him.
23 “And I will break in pieces before his face his oppressors; “And those who hate him I will smite.
24 “And my truth and my mercy shall be with him: “And in my name exalted shall be his horn.
25 “And I will set in the sea his hand, “And in the rivers his right hand.
26 “He shall cry to me, ‘My Father art thou, “‘My God, the Rock of my salvation.’
27 “Also I myself my firstborn will make him, “Higher than the kings of the earth.
28 “And for ever will I keep for him my mercy, “And my covenant shall stand firm with him.
29 “And I will establish for ever his seed, “And his throne as the days of heaven.
30 “If forsake shall his children my law, “And in my judgments shall not walk;
31 “If my ordinances they shall profane, “And my statutes they shall not keep;
32 “Then will I visit with my rod their transgressions, “And with stripes their iniquity.
33 “But my mercy will I not withdraw from him; “Nor will I be false in my truth.
34 “I will not profane my covenant, “And that which is gone forth from my lips I will not alter.
35 “Once have I sworn by my holiness, “If to David I lie — 36 “His seed for ever shall endure; “And his throne as the sun before me.
37 “As the moon it shall be established for ever, “And [as] a faithful witness in the heaven.” Selah.
38 But thou, even thou, hast abhorred and rejected him; Thou hast been wroth with thy anointed.
39 Thou hast made to cease the covenant of thy servant; Thou hast profaned to the earth his crown.
40 Thou hast broken down all his walls; Thou hast made his fortresses a ruin.
41 Plundered him have all who pass by the way: He hath been a reproach to his neighbors.
42 Thou hast exalted the right hand of his oppressors; Thou hast made glad all his adversaries.
43 Also thou hast blunted the edge of his sword, And hast not made him to stand in battle.
44 Thou hast effaced his splendor, And his throne to the ground thou hast east down.
45 Thou hast shortened the days of his youth; Thou hast covered him with disgrace. Selah.
46 How long, O Jehovah! wilt thou hide thyself for ever? Burn like fire shall thy indignation?
47 Remember how short-lived I am! ff109 Wherefore in vain shouldst thou have created all the sons of men?
48 What man shall live, and shall not see death? And shall deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah.
49 Where are thy former compassions, O Lord? Thou hast sworn to David in thy truth.
50 Remember, O Lord! the reproach of thy servants: I have sustained in my bosom all those [reproaches] of the mighty peoples, 51 With which thy enemies have reproached thee, O Jehovah! With which they have reproached the footsteps of thy Messiah.
52 Blessed be Jehovah for evermore. Amen and Amen!
PART FOURTH.110
PSALM 90
*A Psalm of Moses, the man of God*
1 O Lord! a dwelling-place thou hast been to us from generation to generation.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth, And [before] thou hadst formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
3 Thou shalt turn man to destruction, And shalt say, “Return ye sons of Adam.”
4 For a thousand years in thy sight are as yesterday when it is past, And as a watch in the night.
5 Thou overflowest them; ff111 they will be a sleep: In the morning as grass he shall grow.
6 In the morning he (or it) shall flourish and grow: At the evening he (or it) shall be cut down, and shall wither.
7 For we fail by thy anger, And by thy indignation are we affrighted.
8 Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, Our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.
9 For all our days are passed away in thy indignation: We have spent our years as if a thought.
10 In the days of our years there are seventy years; And if through strength, eighty years, Yet is their pride [but] grief and labor; For it passeth by quickly, and we fly away.
11 Who knoweth the power of thy anger? And according to thy fear is thy wrath.
12 Teach us so to number our days, And we shall apply our heart to wisdom.
13 Return, O Jehovah! how long? Be pacified towards thy servants.
14 Satiate us early with thy goodness, And we will exult and rejoice all our days.
15 Make us joyful according to the days of our affliction; According to the years in which we have seen evil.
16 Let thy work appear towards thy servants, And thy glory upon their children.
17 And let there be the beauty of the Lord our God upon us; And the work of our hands direct thou upon us; Yea, the work of our hands direct thou.
PSALM 91
1 He who dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High, Under the shadow of the Almighty shall abide.
2 I will say to Jehovah, “Thou art my hope and my fortress:” He is my God; I will hope in him.
3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, From the noxious pestilence:
4 With his wings he shall protect thee; And under his feathers thou shalt be safe; Thy shield and thy buckler shall be his truth.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid at the terror of the night; At the arrow which flieth by day;
6 At the destruction which in darkness walketh: At the pestilence which wasteth at noon-day.
7 There shall fall at thy side a thousand, And ten thousand at thy right hand: To thee it shall not come nigh.
8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold, And the reward of the ungodly thou shalt see.
9 Because thou, O Jehovah! art my protection; The Most High thou hast made thy refuge.
10 There shall not befall thee [any] evil, And the plague shall not come nigh thy tabernacle:
11 For to his angels he hath given charge concerning thee, To keep thee in all thy ways.
12 Upon their hands they shall bear thee, Lest thou dash against a stone thy foot.
13 Over the lion and asp thou shalt walk; Thou shalt tread upon the young lion and dragon.
14 Because on me he hath reposed, I will deliver him; I will exalt him because he hath known my name.
15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him: With him will I be in trouble; I will deliver him, and will glorify him.
16 With length of days will I satisfy him, And will show him my salvation.
PSALM 92
1 It is good to give thanks to Jehovah, To sing psalms to thy name, O Most High!
2 To proclaim in the morning thy goodness, And thy truth in the night.
3 Upon the psaltery, and upon the nablum, ff112 Upon higgaion with the harp. ff113 4 For thou hast made me glad, O Jehovah! in thy works; In the works of thy hands I will exult.
5 How magnificent are thy works, O Jehovah! Exceeding deep are thy thoughts.
6 The man that is foolish shall not know them, Neither shall he who is void of wisdom understand them.
7 When the wicked flourish as the grass, And all the workers of iniquity spring up, [It is] that they may perish for ever.
8 But thou art exalted for evermore, O Jehovah!
9 For to! thine enemies, O Jehovah! For to! thine enemies shall perish; Scattered shall be all the workers of iniquity:
10 But thou shalt exalt my horn like that of the unicorn. I am anointed with fresh oil.
11 And mine eye shall see [ruin] on my oppressors: [Of destruction,] on those who rise up against me — On those who trouble me hear shall my ears.
12 The righteous as the palmtree shall flourish, As the cedar in Lebanon he shall be multiplied.
13 Planted in the house of Jehovah, In the courts of our God, they shall flourish.
14 Still shall they bud forth in old age; Fat and green shall they be;
15 That they may proclaim that upright is Jehovah, my Rock, And that there is no iniquity in him.
PSALM 93
1 Jehovah hath reigned, He hath put on glory, Put on hath Jehovah strength; He hath girded himself: Also he hath established the world, It shall not be moved.
2 Fixed is thy throne; [Even as] from that time ff114 thou art, and from eternity. ff115 3 Raised have the floods, O Jehovah! Raised have the floods their voice; Raise shall the floods their waves.
4 By reason of the voices ff116 of the great waters Terrible are the waves of the sea: Terrible on high is Jehovah.
5 Thy testimonies are verified exceedingly; To thy house is glory; The holiness of Jehovah is for length of days.
PSALM 94
1 O Jehovah! God of vengeances! O God of vengeances! shine forth.
2 Lift up thyself; O judge of the earth! Render a reward to the proud.
3 How long shall the ungodly, O Jehovah! How long shall the ungodly triumph?
4 They pour forth, they speak hard things, Extol themselves do all the workers of iniquity.
5 Thy people, O Jehovah! they break in pieces; And thy inheritance they afflict:
6 The widow, and the stranger they slay, And the orphans they put to death.
7 And they have said, “God shall not see, “The God of Jacob shall not know..”
8 Understand, ye stupid among the people! And ye fools! when will ye be wise?
9 He who planted the ear shall not He hear? He who formed the eye, shall not He see?
10 He who chastiseth the nations, shall not He correct? He who teacheth man knowledge?
11 Jehovah knoweth the thoughts of men that they are vain.
12 Blessed is the man whom thou hast instructed, O God! And out of thy law hast taught;
13 To give him rest from days of evil, Whilst there is digged for the ungodly [man] a pit.
14 Surely Jehovah will not cast off his people, And his inheritance he will not forsake.
15 For return shall judgment unto righteousness, And [follow] after him shall all the upright in heart.
16 Who will rise up for me against my adversaries? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?
17 Unless Jehovah had been a help to me, My soul had well-nigh dwelt in silence.
18 If I said, “Slidden hath my foot,” Thy goodness, O Jehovah! hath sustained me.
19 In the multitude of my thoughts, Within me thy comforts cheer my soul.
20 Shall the throne of iniquities have fellowship with thee, Framing molestation for law?
21 They will gather together against the soul of the righteous, And the blood of the innocent they will condemn.
22 But Jehovah hath been to me for a fortress; And my God for the rock of my confidence:
23 And he shall retribute upon them their own iniquity, And in their wickedness he shall destroy them; Destroy them shall Jehovah our God.
PSALM 95
1 Come let us exult to Jehovah; Let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before his face with praise, In psalms let us shout for joy unto him.
3 For a great God is Jehovah, And a great King, above all gods.
4 For in his hand are the deep places of the earth; And the heights of the mountains are his.
5 For his is the sea, and he made it; And the dry land his hands formed.
6 Come ye, let us worship, and fall down; Let us kneel before the face of Jehovah, our Maker.
7 For he is our God, And we [are] the people of his pastures, And the flock of his hand; To-day, if his voice ye will hear, 8 Harden not your heart, as in Meribah; As in the day of Massah in the desert,
9 When tempt me did your fathers; They proved me, though they had seen my work.
10 Forty years I strove with this generation, And said, “They are a people erring in heart, “And they have not known my ways.”
11 Wherefore I swear in my wrath, “If they shall enter into my rest —”
PSALM 96
1 Sing ye to Jehovah a song that is new, Sing to Jehovah all the earth.
2 Sing to Jehovah, bless his name; Publish from day to day his salvation.
3 Tell among the heathen his glory; Among all the peoples his wonders.
4 For great is Jehovah, and to be praised highly; Terrible [is] he above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the nations are vanities; But Jehovah made the heavens.
6 Strength and majesty go before him; Power and glory are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to Jehovah, O ye congregations of peoples! Ascribe to Jehovah glory and strength.
8 Ascribe to Jehovah the glory of his name; Bring an offering, and enter into his courts.
9 Worship before Jehovah in the beauty of the sanctuary; Tremble before his face let the whole earth.
10 Say ye among the heathen, “Jehovah reigneth; “Truly established shall be the world, it shall not be moved: “He shall judge the peoples in righteousness.”
11 Rejoice let the heavens, and exult let the earth; Thunder let the sea, and the fullness thereof.
12 Exult let the field, and all that is in it; Shout for joy together let all the trees of the wood 13 Before Jehovah; for he cometh, For he cometh to judge the earth: He shall judge the world in righteousness, And the peoples in his truth.
PSALM 97
1 Jehovah reigneth: Exult let the earth, Rejoice let the great islands.
2 Clouds and darkness are round about him; Righteousness and judgment are the seat of his throne.
3 A fire before his face shall go, And shall burn up round about his enemies.
4 Enlighten did his lightnings the world; See and tremble shall the earth.
5 The mountains like wax melted at the presence of Jehovah, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
6 Declared have the heavens his righteousness, And seen have all the peoples his glory.
7 Confounded be all those who serve graven images, Who glory in their inventions: Worship before him let all the gods.
8 Heard and rejoiced hath Zion; Exulted have the daughters of Judah, Because of thy judgments, O Jehovah!
9 For thou, O Jehovah! art high above all the earth: Exceedingly exalted art thou above all gods.
10 Ye who love Jehovah, hate evil: He preserveth the souls of his meek ones; From the hand of the ungodly he will deliver them.
11 Light is sown for the righteous, And for the upright in heart joy.
12 Rejoice, O ye righteous! in Jehovah, And celebrate the memory of his holiness.
PSALM 98
*A Psalm*
1 Sing ye to Jehovah a song that is new, For marvels he hath done: Salvation wrought for him hath his own right hand, And the arm of his holiness.
2 Made known hath Jehovah his salvation: In the sight of the heathen he hath revealed his righteousness.
3 He hath remembered his goodness and his truth towards the house of Israel: Seen have all the ends of the earth the salvation of our God.
4 Exult to Jehovah all the earth; Make a loud noise, and exult, and sing psalms.
5 Sing psalms to Jehovah upon the harp, Upon the harp, and with the voice of song:
6 With trumpets, and the voice of the cornet, Sing psalms before the King, Jehovah.
7 Roar let the sea, and the fullness thereof; The world, and those who dwell therein.
8 Let the floods clap the hand: Together let the mountains exult 9 Before Jehovah: for he cometh to judge the earth; He shall judge the world in righteousness, And the peoples with rectitude.
PSALM 99
1 Jehovah reigneth; tremble let the people: He dwelleth between the cherubim; moved let be the earth.
2 Jehovah in Zion is great; And exalted is he above all nations.
3 They shall acknowledge thy great and terrible name: It is holy.
4 And the strength of the king loveth judgment; Thou hast established rectitude; Judgement and righteousness in Jacob thou hast done.
5 Exalt ye Jehovah our God, And worship at his footstool: He is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron among his priests, And Samuel among those who call upon his name; They cried to Jehovah and he answered them.
7 In the pillar of the cloud he spake to them: They kept his testimonies And his statutes which he gave them.
8 O Jehovah, our God! thou didst answer them: A God propitious thou wast to them, And [yet] taking vengeance upon their works.
9 Exalt ye Jehovah our God, And worship at the mountain of his holiness; For holy is Jehovah our God.
PSALM 100
*A Psalm for praising*
1 Sing aloud to Jehovah, ff117 all ye inhabitants of the earth.
2 Serve Jehovah with gladness; Come into his presence with exultation.
3 Know that Jehovah He is God; He made us, and not we ourselves: We are his people, and the flock of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with praise, his courts with exultation; Celebrate him, ff118 bless his name:
5 For good is Jehovah, For ever endureth his mercy, And from generation to generation his truth.
PSALM 101
*A Psalm of David*
1 Of mercy and judgment I will sing; To thee, O Jehovah, will I sing psalms.
2 I will act wisely in a perfect way, Until thou comest to me; I will walk in the integrity of my heart in the midst of my house.
3 I will not set before my eyes a wicked thing; The work of those who turn aside I hate; It shall not adhere to me.
4 A heart perverse shall depart from me; Evil I will not know.
5 He who slandereth in secret his neighbor, him will I destroy: The lofty in look and the wide in heart him I will not suffer.
6 My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, That they may dwell with me: He who walketh in an upright way, [Even] he shall minister to me.
7 He shall not dwell in the midst of my house, he who worketh deceit; He who speaketh lies shall not be established before my eyes.
8 Early will I destroy all the ungodly of the land; That I may cut off from the city of Jehovah all the workers of iniquity.
PSALM 102
*A Prayer for the afflicted when he shall be shut up, and shall pour out his* *meditation before Jehovah*
1 O Jehovah! hear my prayer, And let my cry to thee come.
2 Hide not thy face from me in the day of my afflictions; Incline to me thy ear; In the day when I cry, make haste, answer me.
3 For consumed like smoke are ff119 my days, And my bones as a hearth are burnt up.
4 Smitten like grass, and withered is my heart, Because I have forgotten to eat my bread.
5 By reason of the voice of my groaning, Cleave do my bones to my flesh.
6 I am become like a pelican of the desert, I am become as an owl of the solitudes;
7 I have watched and am as the sparrow Which is solitary upon the roof of the house.
8 Daily reproach me do my enemies; And those who are mad against me, by me have sworn.
9 For ashes as bread I have eaten, And my drink with weeping ff120 I have mingled.
10 Because of thy indignation and thy wrath; For thou hast lifted me up and cast me down.
11 My days are as a shadow which declineth; And as grass I am dried up.
12 And thou, O Jehovah! for ever shalt dwell, And thy memorial from generation to generation.
13 Thou thyself shalt arise, thou shalt have mercy upon Zion; For it is time to compassionate her, For come is the appointed time.
14 For take pleasure do thy servants in her stones, And upon her dust they will have compassion.
15 And fear shall the Gentiles the name of Jehovah, And all the kings of the earth thy glory.
16 For Jehovah hath builded Zion, He hath appeared in his glory.
17 He hath regarded the prayer of the solitary, And hath not despised their prayer.
18 This shall be written for the generation to come, And the people [to be] created shall praise him.
19 For he hath looked from the high place of his holiness, Jehovah from the heavens upon the earth hath looked, 20 To hear the groaning of the prisoners To release the sons of death;
21 That declared in Zion may be the name of Jehovah, And his praise in Jerusalem;
22 When gathered shall be the peoples together, And the kingdoms to serve Jehovah.
23 He hath afflicted in the way my strength, He hath shortened my days.
24 I said, O my God! take me not away in the midst of my days; For throughout generations of generations are thy years.
25 Aforetime the earth thou hast founded; And the work of thy hands serve the heavens.
26 They shall perish but thou shalt endure; And they all as a garment shall grow old; As a vesture thou shalt change them, and they shall be changed.
27 But thou art always the same, And thy years shall not fail.
28 The children of thy servants shall dwell, And their seed before thee shall be established.
PSALM 103
*Of David*
1 Bless, O my soul! Jehovah, And all my inward parts bless his holy name.
2 Bless, O my soul! Jehovah, And forget not all his bounties.
3 Who forgiveth all thy iniquities; Who healeth all thy infirmities;
4 Who redeemeth from the grave thy life; Who crowneth thee with mercy and compassions;
5 Who satisfieth with good thy mouth: Renewed as that of the eagle shall be thy youth.
6 Execute doth Jehovah righteousness And judgments for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses, To the children of Israel his doings.
8 Compassionate and merciful is Jehovah, Slow to anger and abundant in goodness.
9 He will not always chide; Neither for ever will he keep [his anger.] 10 Not according to our sins hath he dealt with us, Nor according to our iniquities hath he recompensed us.
11 For in proportion to the height of the heavens above the earth, Hath been the greatness of his goodness upon those who fear him.
12 As far distant as is the east from the west, So far hath he removed from us our sills.
13 As a father is compassionate towards his children, So is Jehovah compassionate towards those who fear him.
14 For he knoweth of what we are made; He hath remembered that dust are we.
15 Man… as grass are his days: As a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
16 As soon as the wind passeth over it, it is not; And know it no more shall the place thereof.
17 But the goodness of Jehovah is from everlasting to everlasting upon those who fear him, And his righteousness upon the children’s children;
18 To those who keep his covenant, And are mindful of his statutes to do them.
19 Jehovah in the heavens hath established his throne; And his kingdom over all hath dominion.
20 Bless Jehovah, ye his angels mighty in strength! Who do his commandment, in hearing the voice of his word.
21 Bless Jehovah, all ye his armies! Ye ministers of his, who do his pleasure.
22 Bless Jehovah, all ye his works! In all places of his dominion: Bless, O my soul! Jehovah.
PSALM 104
1 Bless, O my soul! Jehovah: O Jehovah, my God! thou art great exceedingly; With praise and honor thou hast clothed thyself.
2 Being arrayed with light as with a garment; Spreading out the heavens as a curtain;
3 Flooring in the waters his upper rooms; Making the clouds his chariot; Walking upon the wings of the wind:
4 Making the winds his messengers; His ministers a fire that flameth.
5 He hath founded the earth upon its foundations, So that it shall not be moved for ever.
6 With the deep as with a garment he hath covered it: Above the mountains stand shall the waters.
7 At thy rebuke they shall flee; At the voice of thy thunder they shall suddenly pass away.
8 Ascend shall the mountains and descend shall the valleys To the place which thou hast founded for them.
9 A boundary thou hast set, they shall not pass over it: They shall not return to cover the earth.
10 Sending out springs by the valleys, Which between the hills shall run.
11 Drink thereof shall all the beasts of the field: Quench shall the wild asses their thirst.
12 Nigh time the fowl of the heaven shall dwell, From the midst of the branches they shall send out their voice.
13 Watering the mountains from his chambers: From the fruit of thy works satisfied shall be the earth.
14 Making grass to grow for cattle, And herb for the service of mm: That he may bring forth bread out of the earth.
15 And wine cheereth the heart of man, To make his face to shine with oil, And bread sustaineth the heart of man.
16 Satiated shall be the trees of Jehovah; The cedars of Lebanon which he hath planted:
17 For there the birds build their nests: [As for] the stork, the fir trees are her dwelling.
18 The high mountains are for the deer; The rocks a place of shelter for the hedgehogs.
19 He hath made the moon for set times: The sun knoweth his going down.
20 Thou makest darkness, and it is night; Wherein do creep forth all the beasts of the forest.
21 The lions roar after their prey, And in seeking from God their food.
22 Rise shall the sun, and they shall gather themselves together, And in their dens shall lie down.
23 Go forth shall man to his work, And to his labor, until the evening.
24 How magnificent are thy works! O Jehovah! All things in wisdom thou hast made: Filled is the earth with thy riches.
25 This sea great, and wide in extent; Therein are creeping things inntanerable, Beasts both small and great.
26 There the ships go, And the leviathan, which thou hast formed to sport in it.
27 All things on thee do wait, That thou mayest give them their food in its season.
28 Thou shalt give it them, they shall gather [it:] Thou shalt open thy hand, they shall be satisfied with good.
29 Thou shalt hide thy face, they shall be afraid: Thou shalt take away their spirit, they shall die, and to their dust shall return.
30 Thou shalt send forth thy Spirit, they shall be created: And thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
31 Glory be to Jehovah for ever: Rejoice let Jehovah in his works.
32 He looketh upon the earth, and it trembleth: If he touch the mountains, they shall smoke.
33 I will sing to Jehovah whilst I live: I will sing psalms to my God as long as I have my being.
34 Let my speech be acceptable to him: I will rejoice in Jehovah.
35 Perish let sinners from the earth, And the ungodly till they cease to be any more. Bless, O my soul! Jehovah. Hallelujah.
PSALM 105
1 Celebrate ye Jehovah; invoke his name: Announce among the peoples his works.
2 Sing ye to him: sing psalms to him: Speak of all his wonders.
3 Rejoice ye in his holy name: Rejoice let the heart of those who seek Jehovah.
4 Seek ye Jehovah, and his strength; Seek his face continually.
5 Remember the marvelous works which he hath done; His wonders, and the judgments of his mouth.
6 Ye seed of Abraham, his servant, The sons of Jacob his chosen one:
7 He is Jehovah our God; Through all the earth are his judgments.
8 He hath remembered for ever his covenant, The word which he commanded to a thousand generations:
9 Which he made with Abraham, And his oath which he swore to Isaac;
10 And established it to Jacob for a law, To Israel for an everlasting covenant:
11 Saying, “To thee will I give the land of Canaan, “The cord of your inheritance.”
12 When they were very few in number; And strangers in it;
13 And walked about from nation to nation, From one kingdom to another people, 14 He did not suffer men to hurt them; And rebuked for their sake kings;
15 Saying, “Touch not my anointed ones, “And to my prophets do no harm.”
16 And he called a famine upon the land; All the stall of bread he broke.
17 He sent before them a man, For a slave sold was Joseph.
18 They afflicted in the fetters his feet: The iron entered into his soul:
19 Until the time that his word came: The word of Jehovah tried him.
20 Send did the king and loosed him; Even the ruler of the peoples, and freed him.
21 He made him lord over his house; And ruler over all his substance:
22 To bind his princes at his pleasure; And to teach his elders wisdom.
23 And come did Israel into Egypt; And Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
24 And he increased his people exceedingly, He multiplied them above their oppressors.
25 He turned their heart so that they hated his people, And dealt craftily with his servants.
26 He sent Moses, his servant; Aaron, whom he chose.
27 They set among them the words of his signs, And his miracles in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness, and made it dark; And they were not rebellious against his words.
29 He turned their waters into blood, And killed their fish.
30 Their land brought forth frogs, Yea even within the chambers of their kings.
31 He spake and there came a swarm of flies, Lice in all their borders.
32 He gave them for rain, hail, Flaming fire upon their land.
33 And he smote their vines and their fig-trees; And destroyed every tree of their border.
34 He spake, and there came the locust, And the caterpillar without number;
35 And they devoured all the herbage in their land, And consumed the fruit of their ground.
36 And he smote all the firstborn in their land, The beginning of all their strength.
37 And he brought them forth with silver and gold: And not one among their tribes was a feeble person.
38 Glad was Egypt at their departure; For fallen upon them had their terror.
39 He spread out a cloud for a covering; And fire to give light by the night.
40 He ff121 asked, and brought quails, And with the bread of heaven he filled them.
41 He opened the rock, and there gushed out waters; They ran in the dry places like a river.
42 For he remembered the word of his holiness, Which he had spoken to Abraham his servant.
43 And he brought forth his people with joy, With exultation his chosen ones.
44 And he gave them the lands of the nations: And the labor of the peoples they inherited.
45 That they might keep his ordinances, And that his law they might observe. Hallelujah.
PSALM 106
*Hallelujah*
1 Celebrate Jehovah, for he is good; For to everlasting is his mercy.
2 Who shall express the mighty acts of Jehovah? Who shall declare all his praise?
3 Blessed are they who keep judgment, Blessed is he who doeth righteousness at all times.
4 Remember me, O Jehovah! with the good will [which thou bearest towards] thy people. Visit me with thy salvation;
5 That I may see the good of thy chosen ones, That I may rejoice in the joy of thy nation, That I may glory with thy heritage.
6 We have sinned with our fathers, We have acted iniquitously, we have done wickedly.
7 Our fathers in Egypt understood not thy wonders; They remembered not the multitude of thy kindnesses; And they rebelled at the sea, at the Red Sea.
8 Yet he saved them for the sake of his own name, That. he might cause to be known his power.
9 And he rebuked the Red Sea, and it was dried up; And he made them walk in the deeps as in a desert.
10 And he saved them from the hand of the enemy, And redeemed them from the hand of the adversary.
11 And cover did the waters their oppressors: One of them was not left.
12 Then they believed his words; They sang his praise.
13 They made haste, they forgat his works; They did not wait for his counsel;
14 And they lusted greatly in the desert, And tempted God in the wilderness.
15 And he gave them their request; But sent leanness into their souls.
16 And they envied Moses in the camp, And Aaron, the saint of Jehovah.
17 Open did the earth and swallowed up Dathan, And covered over the tent of Abiram.
18 And kindled was a fire in their company, The flame burned up the ungodly.
19 They made a calf in Horeb, And worshipped before the molten image.
20 And they changed their glory Into the likeness of an ox that eateth hay.
21 They forgat God their Savior, Who had done great things in Egypt;
22 Miracles in the land of Ham, Terrible things at the Red Sea.
23 And he said that he would destroy them, Unless Moses his chosen had stood in the breach before his face, To turn away his wrath, that he might not destroy them.
24 And they despised the land of pleasantness; They believed not his word;
25 And they mutinied in their tents, They hearkened not to the voice of Jehovah.
26 And he lifted tip his hand against them, To destroy them in the desert:
27 And to scatter their seed among the heathen, And to disperse them throughout the lands.
28 And they joined themselves to Baal-peor, And ate the sacrifices of things dead.
29 And they provoked God to anger by their works: And break in upon them did the plague.
30 Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment: And stayed was the plague.
31 And that was imputed to him for righteousness From generation to generation, even for ever.
32 And they provoked him to anger at the waters of strife, And it turned out in to Moses on their account:
33 For they embittered his spirit, And he spake [rashly] with his lips.
34 They did not destroy the nations, As Jehovah had commanded them:
35 And they were mingled with the heathen, And learned their works:
36 And they served their idols; Which were to them for ruin.
37 And they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons;
38 And they shed innocent blood, The blood of their sons and of their daughters, Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; And polluted was the land with bloods.
39 And they were defiled in their own works, And were adulterous in their own inventions.
40 Then ff122 burn did the wrath of Jehovah against his people, And he abhorred his inheritance;
41 And he delivered them into the hands of the heathen; And those had dominion over them who hated them:
42 And subdue them did their enemies, And they were afflicted under their hand.
43 Many times did he deliver them; But they provoked him with their counsels, And were oppressed in their iniquity.
44 Yet he saw when they were in distress, And heard their cry:
45 And he remembered towards them his covenant; And it repented him according to the greatness of his mercies.
46 And he made them to find pity Before all who had led them captive.
47 Save us, O Jehovah, our God! And gather us from among the heathen, That we may celebrate thy holy name, That we may glory in thy praise.
48 Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, From everlasting to everlasting; And say let all the people, Amen. Praise ye Jehovah.
PART FIFTH.123
PSALM 107
1 “Celebrate Jehovah, for he is good, “For to everlasting is his mercy.”
2 Say this let the redeemed of Jehovah, Whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the afflicter.
3 Whom he hath gathered from the lands, From the east, and from the west, From the north, and from the south.
4 They wandered from the way in the solitary desert; A city of habitation they found not:
5 Hungry, also thirsty, So that their soul within them fainted.
6 Then they cried to Jehovah in their distress, And from their troubles he delivered them.
7 And he directed them by a right way, That they might come to a city of habitation.
8 Let them celebrate before Jehovah his mercy, His marvelous works before the sons of men.
9 For he hath satisfied the soul that longeth, And the soul that is famished he hath filled with good.
10 Those who dwell in darkness, and in the shadow of death, Bound in affliction and iron;
11 Because they rebelled against the words of God, And the counsel of the Most High they despised:
12 And he humbled with trouble their heart; They were afflicted and there was none to help them.
13 They cried to Jehovah in their distress: From their troubles he delivered them.
14 He rescued them from darkness and the shadow of death, And their chains he broke asunder.
15 Let them celebrate before Jehovah his mercy, And his marvelous works before the sons of men.
16 For he hath broken the gates of brass, And the bars of iron he hath shivered.
17 Fools on account of the way of their transgression; And on account of their iniquities are afflicted.
18 All food loathe doth their soul; And they approach the gates of death.
19 Then they cry to Jehovah in their trouble: From their straits he sayeth them.
20 He sendeth his word, and healeth them, And rescueth them from all their corruptions.
21 Let them celebrate before Jehovah his mercy, And his marvelous works before the sons of men.
22 And let them sacrifice sacrifices of praise, And announce his works with exultation.
23 Those who go down to the sea in ships, Trading in the great waters, 24 These men see the works of Jehovah, His wonders in the deep.
25 He speaketh and raiseth the wind of storm, And lifteth high the waves thereof.
26 They mount up to the heavens, They descend into the deeps; Their soul in ff124 their distress is melted away.
27 They are tossed and stagger as a drunken man, And all their skill is swallowed up.
28 And they cry to Jehovah in their distress, And from their troubles he bringeth them out.
29 He maketh the storm a calm, So that quiet are the waves thereof.
30 And they rejoice because they are stilled; And he leadeth them unto the haven of their desire.
31 Let them celebrate before Jehovah his mercy, And his wonders before the sons of men;
32 And let them exalt him in the congregation of the people, And in the assembly of the elders let them praise him.
33 He turneth rivers into a desert, And springs of water into dryness;
34 A land that is fruitful into saltness, For the wickedness of those who dwell therein.
35 He turneth the desert into a pool of water, And the land of barrenness into springs of water.
36 And there he causeth to dwell the famished, That they may prepare a city of habitation;
37 And sow fields, and plant vineyards, And eat the fruit of increase.
38 And he blesseth them, and they multiply exceedingly; And their cattle he doth not diminish,.
39 Afterwards they are diminished and brought low, By reason of anguish, affliction, and sorrow.
40 He poureth contempt upon princes, And maketh them to wander in the waste where there is no path.
41 And he raiseth the afflicted from his misery, And maketh like a flock [his] families.
42 See shall the upright ones and shall rejoice: And all iniquity shall stop her mouth.
43 Who is wise, and he will observe these things, And they shall understand the loving-kindness of Jehovah?
PSALM 108
*A Song of a Psalm of David*
1 Prepared is my heart, O God! prepared is my heart, I will chant and will sing psalms, even with my glory.
2 Awake, psaltery and harp: I will arise at the dawn of day.
3 I will celebrate thee, among the peoples, O Jehovah! And will sing psalms to thee among the nations:
4 For great above the heavens, is thy goodness; And unto the clouds is thy truth.
5 Be thou exalted above the heavens, O God! And above all the earth thy glory:
6 That thy beloved ones may be delivered: Save by thy right hand, and hear me.
7 God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice: I will divide Shechem, And the valley of Succoth I will measure.
8 Mine is Gilead, mine is Manasseh; And Ephraim is the strength of my head; Judah my lawgiver.
9 Moab the pot for my washing; Over Edom will I cast my shoe; Over Palestina will I triumph.
10 Who will lead me into the city fortified? Who will lead me even into Edom?
11 Wilt not thou, O God! who hadst cast us off? And [thou] O God! [who] didst not go forth with our armies?
12 Grant us relief from ff125 trouble; For vain is the help of man.
13 Through God we shall do valiantly, And he shall tread down our adversaries.
PSALM 109
*To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David*
1 O God of my praise! be not silent;
2 For the mouth of the ungodly man, and the mouth of deceit upon me are opened; They have talked with me with a tongue of guile:
3 And with words of hatred they have encompassed me, And have fought against me without a cause.
4 [In return] for my love they have been my adversaries; But I set myself to prayer.
5 And they have requited me evil for good, And hatred for my love.
6 Set thou over him an ungodly man; And let the adversary stand at his right hand.
7 When he is judged let him go forth condemned, ff126 And let his prayer be turned into sin.
8 Let his days be few; His office let another receive.
9 Let his children be fatherless, And his wife a widow.
10 And in wandering let his children wander and beg, ff127 And seek [for bread] out of their waste places. ff128 11 Catch let the extortioner all which he hath, And let strangers plunder his labor.
12 Let there be none prolonging mercy to him; And let there be none to have compassion upon his orphans.
13 Let his posterity be destroyed; ff129 In the generation following let their name be blotted out.
14 Remembered let be the iniquity of his fathers before Jehovah; And the wickedness ff130 of his mother let it not be blotted out.
15 Let them be before Jehovah continually, And let him blot out from the earth their memorial;
16 Because he remembered not to do mercy, And persecuted the man [that was] wretched and poor, And afflicted in heart, to put him to death.
17 He loved cursing, and let it come upon him: He delighted not in blessing, and let it be far from him.
18 And let him be clothed with cursing as with a garment; And let it come as water into his entrails, And as oil into his bones.
19 Let it be to him as a mantle to cover him, And as a girdle with which continually he may gird himself 20 Let this be the recompense ff131 of my adversaries from Jehovah, And of those who speak evil against my soul.
21 But thou, O Jehovah, my Lord! deal thou with me for the sake of thy name: Because good is thy mercy, deliver me;
22 For poor and needy I am, And my heart is wounded within me.
23 As a shadow when it declineth, I walk about; I am shaken off as the locust.
24 My knees are become feeble through fasting; And my flesh hath fallen away from its fatness.
25 But I am become a reproach to them; When they see me they shake their head.
26 Help me, O Jehovah, my God! Save me according to thy mercy.
27 And they shall know that this is thy hand, That thou, O Jehovah! hast done it.
28 They shall curse, but thou shalt bless; When they rise up they shall be put to shame; But thy servant shall rejoice.
29 Clothed shall be my adversaries with disgrace, And they shall be covered as with a garment with their own shame.
30 I will praise Jehovah greatly with my mouth; And in the midst of the great I will celebrate him:
31 Because he standeth at the right hand of the poor one, To save from condemnations his soul.
PSALM 110
*A Psalm of David*
1 Jehovah said to my Lord, “Sit thou at my right hand, “Until I make thy enemies thy footstool.”
2 The scepter of thy power send shall Jehovah out of Zion: Rule thou in the midst of thy enemies.
3 Thy people shall come with voluntary offerings, On the day of the assembling of thy army, In beauty of holiness: From the womb as from the morning dawn To thee has been the dew of thy youth.
4 Sworn hath Jehovah, and he will not repent: “Thou art a priest for ever “According to the manner of Melchisedek.”
5 The Lord at thy right hand Hath crushed in the day of his wrath kings.
6 He shall judge among the heathen, He shall fill all with ruins; He shall crush the head over a great country.
7 Of the torrent in the way he shall drink, Therefore shall he lift up the head.
PSALM 111
*Hallelujah*
1 a I will celebrate Jehovah with my whole heart, b In the congregation of the just, and in the assembly.
2 g Great are the works of Jehovah, d Sought out of all who have pleasure in them.
3 h Beautiful and honorable ff132 is his work; w And his righteousness endureth for ever.
4 z He hath made a memorial by his wonderful works: j Merciful and compassionate is Jehovah.
5 f A portion he hath given to those who fear him: y He will remember for ever his covenant.
6 k The might of his works he hath proclaimed to his people, l To give them the heritage of the heathen.
7 m The works of his hands are truth and judgment: n True are all his statutes,
8 s And established for ever — [ Made in truth and rectitude.
9 p Redemption he hath sent to his people; x He hath commanded for ever his covenant: q Holy and terrible is his name.
10 r The beginning of wisdom is the fear of Jehovah; ç A good understanding have all those who do them: t His praise endureth for ever.
PSALM 112
*Hallelujah*
1 a Blessed is the man who feareth Jehovah; b In his commandments he will delight greatly.
2 g Mighty on the earth shall be his seed: d The generation of the upright ones shall be blessed.
3 h Wealth and riches shall be in his house; w And his righteousness endureth for ever.
4 z There ariseth in darkness light to the upright ones: j He is merciful and compassionate and righteous.
5 f A good man showeth pity and lendeth; y He manageth his affairs ff133 in uprightness.
6 k Truly he shall not for ever be moved; l In everlasting remembrance shall be the righteous one.
7 m Of evil tidings he shall not be afraid; n Established is his heart, because he trusteth in Jehovah.
8 s Sustained is his heart, he shall not be afraid, [ Until he see his desire upon his adversaries.
9 p He hath dispersed; he hath given to the poor ones; x His righteousness continueth for ever; q His horn shall be exalted with glory.
10 r The ungodly one shall see it, and be incensed; ç With his teeth he shall gnash and waste away: t The desire of the ungodly ones shall perish.
PSALM 113
*Hallelujah*
1 Praise ye, O ye servants of Jehovah! Praise ye the name of Jehovah.
2 Let the name of Jehovah be blessed, From henceforth and for ever.
3 From the rising of the sun even to his going down, Worthy to be praised is the name of Jehovah.
4 High above all nations is Jehovah, Above the heavens is his glory.
5 Who is like Jehovah our God, 6 Who hath his dwelling on high, ff134 Who humbleth himself to behold that which is done in heaven and on earth?
7 Who raiseth from the dust the needy one; From the dunghill he lifteth up the wretched one;
8 To make him sit with princes, With the princes of his people.
9 Who causeth the barren woman to dwell with a family, Rejoicing that she is a mother of children. Hallelujah.
PSALM 114
1 When Israel went forth from Egypt, The house of Jacob from a people barbarous;
2 [Then] was Judah for his holiness, Israel, his dominions.
3 The sea saw, and fled, Jordan was turned backward.
4 The mountains leaped as rams, The hills as the lambs of the flock.
5 What ailed thee, O sea! that thou fleddest? And thou, O Jordan! that thou wast turned back?
6 Ye mountains, that ye leaped like rams; Ye hills, as the lambs of the flock? 7, At the presence of the Lord, tremble, O earth! At the presence of the God of Jacob;
8 Who turned the rock into pools of water, The flinty rock into a fountain of waters.
PSALM 115
1 Not to us, O Jehovah! not to us, But to thy name give glory, On account of thy mercy, on account of thy truth.
2 Why should the heathen say, “Where is now their God?”
3 But our God is in the heaven: Whatever pleased him he hath done.
4 Their idols are silver and gold, The work of the hands of men.
5 A mouth have they, ff135 and they do not speak: Eyes have they, and they do not see:
6 Ears have they, and they do not hear: Noses have they, and they do not smell:
7 Hands have they, and they do not feel: Feet have they, and they do not walk: They do not speak through their throat.
8 Like to them shall be those who make them, And every one who trusteth in them.
9 O Israel! trust thou in Jehovah: Their help and their shield is He:
10 O house of Aaron! trust in Jehovah: Their help and their shield is he:
11 Ye who fear Jehovah! trust in Jehovah: Their help and their shield is He.
12 Jehovah hath remembered us; he will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron.
13 He will bless those who fear Jehovah, The small together with the great.
14 Jehovah will add to you, To you and to your children.
15 Blessed are ye of Jehovah, Who made heaven and earth.
16 The heavens, the heavens are Jehovah’s: But the earth he hath given to the sons of men.
17 The dead shall not praise thee, O God! Nor any who go down into silence.
18 But as for us we will bless God, From this time, and even for evermore. Hallelujah.
PSALM 116
1 I have loved, because heard hath Jehovah the voice of my prayer;
2 Because he hath inclined his ear to me, When in my straits I called upon him. ff136 3 They encompassed me, the snares of death, And the sorrows of the grave found me: Trouble and grief I found.
4 And on the name of Jehovah I will call: “I beseech thee, O Jehovah! deliver my soul.”
5 Merciful is Jehovah and righteous; And our God is compassionate.
6 Guard doth Jehovah the simple: I was brought low and he saved me.
7 Return, O my soul! to thy rest; For Jehovah hath dealt kindly with thee. ff137 8 Because thou hast rescued my soul from death My eye from tears, My foot from falling.
9 I will walk before Jehovah in the land of the living.
10 I have believed, for I will speak: “I am afflicted greatly.”
11 I said in my fear, “Every man is a liar.”
12 What shall I render to Jehovah? All his benefits are upon me.
13 The cup of salvation I will take, And upon the name of Jehovah I will call.
14 My vows to, Jehovah I will perform Now in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the eyes of Jehovah is the death of his meek ones.
16 Come! O Jehovah! for I, am thy servant; I am thy servant, the son of thy handmaid; Thou hast broken my fetters.
17 To thee will I sacrifice the sacrifice of praise, And upon the name of Jehovah will I call.
18 My vows to Jehovah will I perform Now in the presence of all his people, 19 In the courts of the house of Jehovah In the midst of thee, O Jerusalem! Hallelujah.
PSALM 117
1 Praise ye Jehovah, all ye nations! Celebrate him all ye peoples!
2 For great towards us is his mercy, And the truth of Jehovah continueth for ever. Hallelujah.
PSALM 118
1 Celebrate ye Jehovah! for he is good: For to everlasting endureth his mercy.
2 Let now Israel say: “For ff138 to everlasting endureth his mercy.”
3 Let now the house of Aaron say: “For to everlasting endureth his mercy.”
4 Let now those who fear Jehovah say: “For to everlasting endureth his mercy.”
5 In my distress I called upon God; God answered me by setting me at large.
6 Jehovah is with me: I will not fear what man can do to me.
7 Jehovah is with me among those who help me, And I shall see my desire upon my adversaries.
8 It is better to hope in Jehovah Than to place confidence in man:
9 It is better to hope in Jehovah Than to place confidence in princes.
10 All the nations encompassed me: But in the name of Jehovah I will surely cut them off.
11 They encompassed me, yea they encompassed me, But in the name of Jehovah I will surely cut them off’.
12 They encompassed me as bees: They were extinguished as a fire of thorns: In the name of Jehovah I will surely cut them off.
13 Thou hast thrust and ff139 thrust at me, that I might fall: But Jehovah helped me.
14 My strength and my song is God, And he hath become to me salvation.
15 The voice of exultation and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: The right hand of Jehovah hath done valiantly.
16 The right hand of Jehovah is exalted, The right hand of Jehovah hath done valiantly.
17 I shall not die, yea, I shall live, And recount the works of God.
18 Chastised me sorely hath ff140 God; But he hath not delivered me up unto death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness; And having entered into them, I will celebrate God.
20 This is the gate of Jehovah, The just ones shall enter into it.
21 I will celebrate thee because thou hast heard me, And hast been my salvation.
22 The stone which the builders rejected Is become the head [stone] of the corner.
23 By Jehovah hath this been done: It is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day which Jehovah hath made; Let us exult and rejoice in it.
25 I beseech thee, O Jehovah! save me; I beseech thee, I beseech thee, O Jehovah! give prosperity I beseech thee.
26 Blessed is he who cometh in the name of Jehovah: We bless you from the house of Jehovah.
27 God is Jehovah, and he hath given light to us: Bind ye the lamb with cords, even to the horns of the altar.
28 My God art thou, and I will celebrate thee: My God, I will exalt thee.
29 Celebrate ye Jehovah; for he is good: For to everlasting is his mercy.
PSALM 119
a [Aleph.]
1 a Blessed are those who are upright in their way, Walking in the law of Jehovah.
2 a Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, Who with their whole heart seek him.
3 a, Surely they do not work iniquity, Who in his ways do walk.
4 a Thou hast commanded That thy statutes be kept carefully.
5 a O that my ways may be directed To the keeping of thy statutes!
6 a Then shall I not be ashamed, When I shall have been attentive to all thy commandments.
7 a I will celebrate thee with uprightness of heart, When I shall have learned the judgments of thy righteousness.
8 a, Thy statutes I will keep: Do not thou forsake me very far.
b [Beth.]
9 b By what [means] shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to thy word.
10 b With my whole heart have I sought thee; Let me not go astray from thy commandments.
11 b In my heart I have hidden thy word, That I might not sin against thee.
12 b Blessed art thou, O Jehovah! Teach me thy statutes.
13 b With my lips have I declared All the judgments of thy mouth.
14 b In the way of thy testimonies I have taken delight, As much as in all riches.
15 b Upon thy statutes will I meditate, And I will consider thy paths.
16 b In thy commandments will I delight myself; I will not forget thy words.
g [Gimel.]
17 g Do good to thy servant, And I shall live and keep thy word.
18 g Open mine eyes, And I shall behold the wonders of thy law.
19 g I am a stranger on the earth: Hide not from me thy commandments.
20 g Broken is my soul with the desire it hath To thy judgments at all times.
21 g Thou hast destroyed the proud ones; Cursed are those who decline from thy commandments.
22 g Remove from me reproach and contempt; For thy testimonies I have kept.
23 g Princes also have sat, against me they have spoken: Thy servant meditated upon thy statutes.
24 g Also thy testimonies are my delights, The men of my counsel.
d [Daleth.]
25 d Cleave to the dust doth my soul: Quicken me according to thy word.
26 d I have declared my ways, and thou hast answered me: Teach me thy statutes.
27 d The way of thy commandments make me to understand, And I will meditate upon thy wonders.
28 d Drop away doth my soul for grief: Raise me up according to thy word.
29 d The way of falsehood remove from me, And thy law grant me graciously.
30 d The way of truth I have chosen; Thy judgments I have set before me.
31 d I have cleaved to thy testimonies, O Jehovah Let me not be put to shame.
32 d The way of thy statutes I will run, When thou shalt have enlarged my heart.
h [He.]
33 h Teach me, O Jehovah! the way of thy statutes, And I will keep it unto the end.
34 h Make me to understand, and I will observe thy law, And keep it with my whole heart.
35 h Direct me in the way of thy statutes; For in it is my delight.
36 h Incline my heart to thy testimonies, And not to covetousness.
37 h Turn away my eyes from seeing vanity; In thy way quicken me.
38 h Confirm to thy servant thy word, Who to thy fear is devoted.
39 h Remove my reproach which I have dreaded, For thy judgments are good.
40 h Behold! I have longed after thy commandments: In thy righteousness quicken me.
w[Vau.]
41 w And let come to me thy mercies, O Jehovah! Thy salvation according to thy word.
42 w And I will answer a word to him who reproacheth me; For I have trusted in thy word.
43 w And take not from my mouth the word of truth utterly: Because for thy judgments I wait.
44 w And I will keep thy law continually, For ever and ever.
45 w And I will walk at large; For thy statutes I have sought.
46 w And I will speak of thy testimonies before kings, And will not be ashamed.
47 w And I will delight myself in thy commandments Which I have loved.
48 w And I will lift up my hands to thy commandments Which I have loved; And I will meditate upon thy statutes.
z [Zain.]
49 z Remember thy word to thy servant, Upon which thou hast caused me to hope.
50 z This is my consolation in my affliction; For thy word revives me.
51 z The proud ones have derided me exceedingly: From thy law I have not declined.
52 z I remembered thy judgments of old, O Jehovah! And comforted myself.
53 z Terror hath seized upon me, Because of the ungodly who forsake thy law.
54 z Thy statutes have been songs to me In the house of my pilgrimage.
55 z I remembered in the night thy name, O Jehovah! And I will keep thy law.
56 z This is done to me, Because thy statutes I have observed.
j [Cheth.]
57 j Thou art my portion, O Jehovah! I have said that I will keep thy words. ff141 58 j I have sought thy face with my whole heart; Have mercy upon me according to thy word.
59 j I thought upon my ways, And turned my feet to thy testimonies.
60 j I made haste and delayed not To keep thy commandments.
61 j The cords of the ungodly have caught hold of me; Thy law I have not forgotten.
62 j At midnight I will rise to praise thee, Because of the judgments of thy righteousness.
63 j A companion am I to all who fear thee, And who keep thy statutes.
64 j Of thy mercy, O Jehovah! the earth is full: Thy statutes teach thou me.
t [Teth.]
65 t Kindly hast thou dealt with thy servant, O Jehovah! According to thy word.
66 t Goodness of taste and knowledge teach me; For thy commandments I have believed.
67 t Before I was brought low I went astray; But now thy word I keep.
68 t Good art thou, and beneficent: Teach me thy statutes.
69 t Weaved a lie ff142 against me have the proud ones; But as for me I with my whole heart will keep statutes.
70 t Fat as grease is their heart; But as for me I in thy law do delight.
71 t It hath been good for me that I have been afflicted, That I might learn thy statutes.
72 t Better to me is the law of thy mouth Than thousands of gold and silver.
y [Yod.]
73 y Thy hands have made and formed me; Make me to understand, and I shall learn thy commandments.
74 y Those who fear thee shall see me and rejoice; Because for thy word I have waited.
75 y I have known, O Jehovah! that righteousness are thy judgments; And in truth thou hast humbled me.
76 y To thy word to thy servant.
77 y Let come to me thy compassions, and I shall live; For thy law is my delight.
78 y Ashamed let be the proud, for they have falsely wronged me: As for me I will meditate upon thy precepts.
79 y Let those turn unto me who fear thee, And have known thy testimonies.
80 y Let my heart be sound in thy statutes, That I may not be put to shame.
k [Caph.]
81 k Fainted for thy salvation hath my soul: For thy word I wait.
82 k Failed have my eyes [in looking] for thy word, While I say, “When wilt thou comfort me?”
83 k For I have been as a bottle in the smoke; And yet thy statutes I have not forgotten.
84 k How many are the days of thy servant? When wilt thou execute judgment on my persecutors?
85 k The proud have digged pits for me, Which is not according to thy law.
86 k All thy commandments are truth: Deceitfully do they persecute me; therefore help thou me.
87 k Almost have they consumed me upon the earth; Yet I have not forsaken thy statutes.
88 k According to thy goodness quicken me; And I will keep the testimony of thy mouth.
l [Lamed.]
89 l For ever, O Jehovah! Thy word endureth in the heavens.
90 l From generation to generation is thy truth: Thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.
91 l By thy judgments they continue to this day; For all are thy servants.
92 l Unless thy law had been my delight, Then should I have perished in my affliction.
93 l Never will I forget thy statutes, For in them thou hast quickened me.
94 l Thine I am; O save me! For thy statutes I have sought.
95 l For me wait do the ungodly to destroy me: But I consider thy testimonies.
96 l In all perfection I have seen an end: Broad is thy commandment exceedingly.
m [Mem.]
97 m O how have I loved thy law! All the day it is my meditation.
98 m Than my adversaries thou hast made me wiser by thy commandments; Because for ever they are with me.
99 m Than all my teachers thou hast made me wiser; Because thy testimonies are my meditation.
100 m Than the aged I have more understanding; Because thy statutes I have observed.
101 m From every evil path I have restrained my feet, That I may keep thy word.
102 m From thy judgments I have not declined; For thou thyself hast taught me.
103 m How sweet to my palate have been thy words! More [sweet] than honey to my mouth!
104 m By thy statutes I have gotten understanding; Therefore I have hated every path of falsehood.
n [Nun.]
105 n A lamp to my feet is thy word, And a light to my path.
106 n I have sworn and will make sure, To observe the judgments of thy righteousness.
107 n I am afflicted exceedingly, O Jehovah! Quicken me according to thy word.
108 n I Let the freewill offerings of my mouth, I pray thee, be pleasing to thee, O Jehovah! And thy judgments teach me.
109 n My soul is in my hand continually; And thy law I have not forgotten.
110 n Laid have the ungodly a snare for me: Yet from thy statutes I have not erred.
111 n I have as [my] inheritance thy testimonies for ever; For the joy of my heart are they.
112 n I have inclined my heart to perform thy statutes For ever, and even to the end.
s [Samech.]
113 s Crooked thoughts I have hated; But thy law I have loved.
114 s My hiding-place and my shield art thou: In thy word I have trusted.
115 s Depart from me, ye wicked men! And I will keep the commandments of my God.
116 s Sustain me by thy word, and I shall live: And make me not ashamed of my expectation.
117 s Establish me, and I shall be safe, And I will consider thy statutes continually.
118 s Thou hast trodden down all who go astray from thy statutes; For falsehood is their deceit.
119 s As dross thou hast made to cease all the ungodly of the earth; Therefore I have loved thy testimonies.
120 s Tremble ff143 for fear of thee did my flesh, And of thy judgments I was afraid.
[ [Ain.]
121 [ I have done judgment and righteousness: Give me not up to my oppressors.
122 [ Become surety for thy servant for good, That the proud may not oppress me.
123 [ My eyes have failed for thy salvation, And for the word of thy righteousness.
124 [ Deal with thy servant according to thy goodness, And thy statutes teach thou me.
125 [ Thy servant am I, give me understanding, That I may learn thy testimonies.
126 [ It is time [for thee] to work, O Jehovah! For they have destroyed thy law.
127 [ Therefore I have loved thy statutes Mere than gold and fine gold.
128 [ Therefore all thy commandments I have esteemed to be altogether right: Every way of falsehood I have hated:
p [Phe.]
129 p Marvelous things are thy testimonies; Therefore observed them hath my soul.
130 p The entrance of thy words is light, Giving understanding to the little ones.
131 p My mouth I opened and panted, Because thy commandments I loved.
132 p Look upon me and have pity upon me, According to thy judgment towards those who love thy name.
133 p My steps direct thou according to thy word, And let not any iniquity have dominion in me.
134 p Redeem me from the oppression of men, And I will keep thy precepts.
135 p Thy face cause thou to shine upon thy servant, And teach me thy statutes.
136 p Rivers of waters run from my eyes, Because they have not kept thy law.
x [Tsadde.]
137 x Righteous art thou, O Jehovah! And right are thy judgments.
138 x Thou hast commanded righteousness in thy testimonies, And truth exceedingly.
139 x Consumed me hath my zeal, Because forgotten thy words have my adversaries.
140 x Refined is thy word exceedingly: And thy servant hath loved it.
141 x Small am I, and despised; [Yet] thy precepts I have not forgotten.
142 x Thy righteousness is righteousness for ever, And thy law is truth.
143 x Trouble and anguish have come upon me; But thy commandments have been my delights.
144 x The righteousness of thy testimonies endureth for ever; Make me to understand, and I shall live.
q [Koph.]
145 q I have cried with my whole heart; Answer me, O Jehovah! And thy statutes I will keep.
146 q I have called upon thee, save me, And I will keep thy testimonies.
147 q I have prevented the dawn of the morning, ff144 and have cried: To thy word I have looked up.
148 q Prevented have my eyes the watches of the night, To meditate upon thy word.
149 q My voice hear thou, according to thy mercy, O Jehovah According to thy judgment quicken me.
150 q Drawn near have the pursuers of malice; From thy law they have departed.
151 q Near art thou, O Jehovah! And all thy commandments are truth.
152 q From the beginning I have known from thy testimonies, That for ever thou hast founded them.
r [Resh.]
153 r Behold my affliction, and rescue me; For thy law I have not forgotten.
154 r Debate my cause, and redeem me; According to thy word quicken me.
155 r Far from the ungodly is safety; Because thy statutes they have not sought.
156 r Thy compassions are great, O Jehovah! According to thy judgments quicken me.
157 r Many are my persecutors and my oppressors: From thy testimonies I have not declined.
158 r I saw the perfidious, and chid them; Because thy word they have not kept.
159 r Behold how thy commandments I have loved: According to thy clemency quicken me.
160 r The beginning of thy word is truth; And to everlasting is all the judgment of thy righteousness.
ç [Shin.]
161 ç Princes have persecuted me without a cause Yet at thy word afraid hath been my heart.
162 ç Joyful am I over thy word, As he who hath found much spoil.
163 ç Deceit I have hated and abhorred; Thy law I have loved.
164 ç Seven times a day have I praised thee, Because of the judgments of thy righteousness.
165 ç Much peace have those who love thy law, And they have no stumbling-block.
166 ç I have waited for thy salvation, O Jehovah! And thy commandments I have done.
167 ç Kept hath my soul thy testimonies, And I have loved them exceedingly.
168 ç I have kept thy commandments and thy testimonies; For all my ways are before thee.
t [Thau.]
169 t Come let my cry into thy presence, O Jehovah! According to thy word give me understanding.
170 t Come let my prayer into thy presence: According to thy word deliver me.
171 t Speak shall my lips praise, When thou shalt have taught me thy statutes.
172 t Speak shall my tongue of thy word; For all thy precepts are righteousness.
173 t Let thy hand be to succor me; For thy commandments I have chosen.
174 t I have longed for thy salvation, O Jehovah! And thy law hath been my delights.
175 t Live let my soul, and let it praise thee; And let thy judgments succor me.
176 t I have wandered like a lost sheep; Seek thy servant, for thy statutes I have not forgotten.
PSALM 120
*A Song of Degrees*
1 To Jehovah in my distress I cried, And he answered me.
2 O Jehovah! deliver my soul from the lip of falsehood, From the tongue of deceit.
3 What give thee, and what avail thee Shall the tongue of deceit?
4 The arrows of a strong man sharpened, With coals of junipers.
5 Alas for me! that I have been a sojourner in Meseeh, And have dwelt among the tents of Kedar.
6 Long dwelt hath my soul with him who hateth peace.
7 I [am for] peace; But when I speak, they [are] for war.
PSALM 121
*A Song of Degrees*
1 I will lift up my eyes to the mountains, Whence come shall my help.
2 My help cometh from Jehovah, Who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to stumble; Slumber not shall thy guardian.
4 Behold! slumber not nor sleep Shall the guardian of Israel.
5 Jehovah is thy guardian; Jehovah is thy defense on thy right hand.
6 By day the sun shall not smite thee, Nor the moon by night.
7 Jehovah shall keep thee from all evil; He shall keep thy soul.
8 Jehovah shall keep thy going out and thy coming in, From this time, and for ever.
PSALM 122
*A Song of Degrees Of David*
1 I was glad when they said to me, “Into the house of Jehovah we will go.
2 “Our feet shall be standing in thy gates, O Jerusalem!”
3 Jerusalem built as a city, compact in itself together.
4 Thither ascended the tribes, the tribes of God, For a testimony to Israel, To celebrate the name of Jehovah.
5 For there have sat ff145 thrones for judgment, The thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray ye for the peace of Jerusalem: Prosper may those who love thee!
7 Peace be within thy bulwark! Prosperity within thy towers!
8 For the sake of my brethren and my neighbors, I will say now, “Peace [be] within thee! “ 9 For the sake of the house of Jehovah our God, I will seek good for thee.
PSALM 123
*A Song of Degrees*
1 To thee will I lift up mine eyes, [O thou] who dwellest in the heavens!
2 Behold! as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters; As the eyes of a handmaid look to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes [look] to Jehovah our God, Until he have mercy upon us.
3 Have mercy upon us, O Jehovah! have mercy upon us; For we are exceedingly filled with reproach.
4 Exceedingly filled in itself is our soul With the mockery of the rich, With the contempt of the proud.
PSALM 124
*A Song of Degrees. Of David*
1 “But for Jehovah who was on our side” — Say now may Israel:
2 “But for Jehovah who was on our side, “When men rose up against us;
3 “Then alive had they swallowed us up, “When kindled was their wrath against us;
4 “Then the waters had overwhelmed us, “The torrent had gone over our soul:
5 “Then had gone over our soul the proud waters.”
6 Blessed be Jehovah, Who gave us not for a prey to their teeth.
7 Our soul as a bird, hath been rescued ff146 from the snare of the fowlers; The snare hath been broken, and we have been delivered.
8 Our help is in the name of Jehovah, Who made heaven and earth.
PSALM 125
*A Song of Degrees*
1 They who confide in Jehovah are as mount Zion, Which shall not be removed, but shall abide for ever.
2 As the mountains are about Jerusalem, So Jehovah is round about his people, From henceforth, and for ever.
3 For rest not shall the scepter of the ungodly ones upon the lot of the just, Lest the just ones should put forth to iniquity their hands.
4 Do good, O Jehovah! to the good, And to those who are upright in their hearts.
5 But those who turn aside into their crooked paths, Jehovah shall make them walk with the workers of iniquity: But there shall be peace upon Israel.
PSALM 126
*A Song of Degrees*
1 When bring back did Jehovah the captivity of Zion, We were like those that dream.
2 Now filled with laughter shall be our mouth, And our tongue with exultation: Now shall they say among the heathen, “Great things Jehovah hath done for them.”
3 Great things Jehovah hath done for us, Whereof we have been made glad.
4 Bring back, O Jehovah! our captivity, As rivers in the South.
5 They who sow in tears In exultation shall reap.
6 Going forth, he shall go and weep, Carrying the price of the seed: Returning he shall return with exultation, Bearing his sheaves.
PSALM 127
*A Song of Degrees. Of Solomon*
1 Except Jehovah build the house, In vain they labor that build it; Except Jehovah keep the city, In vain watcheth the watchman.
2 Vain is it for you early to hasten to rise, To go late to rest, To eat the bread of sorrows: For thus will he give to his beloved one sleep.
3 Lo! the heritage of Jehovah are children: The reward which he bestows is the fruit of the womb.
4 As arrows in the hand of a strong man, So are the sons of youth.
5 Blessed is the man who shall have filled his quiver with them; For they shall not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate.
PSALM 128
*A Song of Degrees*
1 Blessed is the man who feareth Jehovah, Who walketh in his ways.
2 The labor of thy hands when thou shalt eat thou shalt be blessed, And it shall be well with thee.
3 Thy wife shall be as a vine fruitful on the sides of thy house: Thy children as plants of olives around thy table.
4 Lo! surely, thus blessed shall be the man who feareth Jehovah.
5 Bless thee shall Jehovah from Zion; And thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.
6 And thou shalt see thy children’s children, And peace upon Israel.
PSALM 129
*A Song of Degrees*
1 “Often have they afflicted me from my youths” Say now let Israel:
2 “Often have they afflicted me from my youth; “Yet they have not prevailed against me.
3 “Upon my back ploughed have the ploughers; “They have made long their furrows.
4 “Jehovah, who is righteous, hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.”
5 Confounded and turned backward shall be all who hate Zion.
6 They shall be as the grass of the housetops, Which before it cometh forth is withered:
7 With which the mower hath not filled his hand, Nor his bosom he who gathereth handfuls.
8 Nor have they said who pass by, “The blessing of Jehovah be upon you, “We bless you in the name of Jehovah.”
PSALM 130
*A Song of Degrees*
1 Out of the depths have I cried to thee, O Jehovah!
2 O Lord! hear my voice; Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my prayers.
3 If iniquities thou shouldest mark, O God! O Lord! who shall stand?
4 For with thee is forgiveness that thou mayest be feared.
5 I have waited for Jehovah, waited hath my soul; And in his word have I hoped.
6 My soul [hath waited] for the Lord Before the watchers of the morning, the watchers of the morning.
7 But ff147 hope let Israel in Jehovah; For with Jehovah there is mercy, And with him there is plenteous redemption.
8 And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
PSALM 131
*A Song of Degrees. Of David*
1 O Jehovah! my heart hath not been elated, Nor lifted up have been my eyes, Nor have I exercised myself in great matters, Or in things hidden from me.
2 If I have not framed [or set] and quieted my soul, Like one that is weaned from his mother, — ff148 Like a child that is weaned is my soul upon me.
3 Hope shall Israel in Jehovah From henceforth, and for ever.
PSALM 132
*A Song of Degrees*
1 Remember, O Jehovah! David With all his affliction:
2 Who sware to Jehovah, [Who] vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 “If I shall enter into the tabernacle of my house, “If I shall go up upon the covering of my bed, 4 “If I give sleep to my eyes, “To my eyelids slumber, 5 “Until I find a place for Jehovah, “Habitations for the mighty God of Jacob,” — ff149 6 Lo! we heard of it at Ephratha; We found it in the fields of the wood.
7 We will enter into his habitations, We will worship at his footstool.
8 Arise, O Jehovah! into thy rest, Thou and the ark of thy strength.
9 Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness, And let thy meek ones exult.
10 For the sake of David thy servant Turn not away the face of thy Christ.
11 Sworn hath Jehovah to David in truth, Nor will he turn from it: “Of the fruit of thy belly will I set upon thy throne.
12 “If thy children shall keep my covenant, “And my testimonies, which I will teach them; “Also their children for ever shall sit upon thy throne.”
13 For chosen hath Jehovah Zion; He hath desired her for a habitation to himself.
14 “This is my rest for ever; “Here will I dwell, because I have loved her.
15 “Her provision blessing I will bless; “Her poor I will satisfy with bread; .
16 “And her priests I will clothe with salvation; “And her merciful ones with exultation shall exult.
17 “There will I make to bud the horn of David: “I have prepared a lamp for my Christ.
18 “His enemies will I clothe with shame, “And upon him flourish shall his crown.”
PSALM 133
*A Song of Degrees. Of David*
1 Behold! how good, and how becoming, That brethren should even dwell together!
2 Like the precious oil upon the head, Which descendeth ff150 upon the beard, the beard of Aaron, Which descendeth upon the skirt of his garments.
3 Like the dew of Hermon, Which descendeth upon the mountains of Zion: For there commanded hath Jehovah the blessing, Life for evermore.
PSALM 134
*A Song of Degrees*
1 Behold! bless ye Jehovah, All ye servants of Jehovah! Who stand in the house of Jehovah nightly.
2 Lift up your hands to the sanctuary, And bless ye Jehovah.
3 May Jehovah bless thee out of Zion, [Even he] who hath made heaven and earth.
PSALM 135
*Hallelujah*
1 Praise ye the name of Jehovah; Praise [it] O ye servants of Jehovah!
2 Who stand in the house of Jehovah, [And ye who stand] in the courts of the house of our God.
3 Praise God; for good is Jehovah: Sing to his name; for it is pleasant:
4 For God hath chosen Jacob to himself, Israel for his own possession.
5 For I know that great is Jehovah, And that our God is above all gods.
6 All things which Jehovah pleaseth, lie doeth in the heavens and on the earth, In the sea and in all the deeps.
7 Causing the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth: The lightnings for the rain he maketh, Bringing forth the wind out of his secret places.
8 He smote the first born of Egypt, From man even unto beast.
9 He sent signs and wonders in the midst of thee, O Egypt! On Pharaoh and on all his servants.
10 He smote great nations, And slew mighty kings.
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites, And Og the king of Basham, And all the kingdoms of Canaan.
12 And gave their land for an heritage, An heritage to Israel, his people.
13 O Jehovah! thy name is for ever; O Jehovah! thy memorial is from generation to generation.
14 For judge will Jehovah his people, And concerning his servants he will repent himself.
15 The images of the nations are silver and gold, The work of the hands of man.
16 A mouth have they, and they will not speak; ff151 Eyes have they, and they will not see.
17 Ears have they, and they will not hear: Also, there is no breath in their mouth.
18 Like unto them are those who make them, And every one who trusteth in them.
19 O house of Israel! bless ye Jehovah; O house of Aaron! bless ye Jehovah;
20 O house of Levi! bless ye Jehovah; O ye who fear Jehovah! bless ye Jehovah.
21 Blessed be Jehovah out of Zion, Who dwelleth at Jerusalem. Hallelujah.
PSALM 136
1 Praise Jehovah, for he is good, For to everlasting endureth his mercy.
2 Praise the God of gods, For to everlasting endureth his mercy.
3 Praise the Lord of lords, For to everlasting endureth his mercy.
4 Who hath done wonders great alone, For to everlasting endureth his mercy.
5 Who hath made the heavens in wisdom, For to everlasting endureth his mercy.
6 Who hath stretched out the earth above the waters, For to everlasting endureth his mercy.
7 Who hath made the great lights, For to everlasting endureth his mercy.
8 The sun for rule by day, For to everlasting endureth his mercy.
9 The moon and stars for rule by night, For to everlasting endureth his mercy.
10 Who smote the Egyptians in their first born, For to everlasting endureth his mercy.
11 And brought out Israel from the midst of them, For to everlasting endureth his mercy.
12 With a hand of strength and an arm stretched out, For to everlasting endureth his mercy.
13 Who divided the Red Sea into divisions, For to everlasting endureth his mercy.
14 And made Israel to pass through the midst of it, For to everlasting endureth his mercy.
15 And cast Pharaoh and his host headlong into the Red Sea, For to everlasting endureth his mercy.
16 And led his people through the wilderness, For to everlasting endureth his mercy.
17 Who smote great kings, For to everlasting endureth his mercy.
18 And slew renowned kings, For to everlasting endureth his mercy.
19 Sihon, king of the Arnorites, For to everlasting endureth his mercy.
20 And Og, the king of Bashan, For to everlasting endureth his mercy.
21 And gave their land for an heritage, For to everlasting endureth his mercy.
22 An heritage to Israel his servant, For to everlasting endureth his mercy.
23 Who in our humiliation remembered us, For to everlasting endureth his mercy.
24 And rescued us from our oppressors, For to everlasting endureth his mercy.
25 Who giveth food to all flesh, For to everlasting endureth his mercy.
26 Make acknowledgments to the God of heavens, For to everlasting endureth his mercy.
PSALM 137
1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, Yea we wept when we remembered thee, O Zion!
2 Upon the willows, in the midst thereof, We hanged our harps.
3 Then they required of us, they who carried us away captive, the words of a song, And, when we were in suspense, mirth, [Saying] Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”
4 How shall we sing the song of Jehovah, In a strange land?
5 If I shall forget thee, O Jerusalem! Forget let my right hand [its cunning.] 6 Cleave let my tongue to my palate, If I do not remember thee, If I do not raise Jerusalem above my highest joy. ff152 7 Remember, O Jehovah! the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem: ‘Who said, “Lay it bare — “Lay it bare, even to the foundations thereof.”
8 O daughter of Babylon laid waste! Happy he who shall repay thee The retribution with which thou hast retributed us!
9 Happy he who shall take And dash thy little ones against the stones.
PSALM 138
*Of David*
1 I will celebrate thee with my whole heart; Before the gods! will sing psalms to thee.
2 I will worship thee towards the temple of thy holiness, And sing to thy name for thy mercy and for thy truth; For thou hast magnified above all things thy name by thy word.
3 In the day when, I cried to thee, then thou heardest me, Thou didst abundantly minister to me strength in my soul.
4 Celebrate thee, O Jehovah! let all the kings of the earth; For they have heard the words of thy mouth.
5 And let them sing in the ways of Jehovah, For great is the glory of Jehovah.
6 For high is Jehovah; yet the lowly he will regard; And being high will know afar off:
7 If I shall walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me; Against the wrath of my enemies thou wilt put forth thy hand, And save me shall thy right hand.
8 Jehovah will perform in me his work, O Jehovah! thy mercy is from everlasting; The works of thy hands thou wilt not forsake.
PSALM 139
*To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David*
1 O Jehovah! thou hast searched me and known me.
2 Thou hast known my down sitting and my uprising, Thou understandest my thought afar off.
3 My path and my lying down thou besiegest, And with all my ways thou art acquainted.
4 For there is not a word in my tongue [But] lo! O God! thou knowest it altogether.
5 Behind and before thou hast shut me up, And hast laid upon me thy hand.
6 Wonderful is thy knowledge above me; It is high, I cannot attain to it.
7 Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? And whither from thy time shall I flee?
8 If I ascend up into the heavens, there thou art; If I lie down ff153
in the sepulcher, behold! thou [art there.]
9 Should I take the wings of the morning, That I may dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 Even there thy hand shall lead me, And hold me shall thy right hand.
11 If I should say: “At least the darkness shall cover me; “And the night shall be light for me; “ 12 Even the darkness shall not hide from the And the night as the day shall shine, And the darkness as the light.
13 For thou hast possessed my reins; Thou hast covered me in the womb of my mother.
14 I will celebrate thee; for I have been fearfully and wonderfully made: ff154 Marvelous are thy works, And my soul shall know them full well.
15 Not hidden is my strength from thee, Which thou hast made in secret: I was woven together in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 My shapelessness see did thine eyes; ff155 In thy book all shall be written; They were formed in many days, And there was not one of them.
17 And towards me how precious are thy thoughts, O God! How great are the sums of them!
18 If I should count them; above the sand they shall be multiplied: I am awakened, and still I am with thee.
19 If thou shalt slay, O God! the wicked, Then ye men of bloods depart from me.
20 Who have spoken of thee wickedly: Taken thy name falsely have thy adversaries.
21 Thy haters, O Jehovah! shall not I hate? And with those that rise up against thee shall I not strive?
22 With perfect hatred I have hated them, As my enemies I have held them.
23 Search me, O God! and know my heart: Examine me and know my thoughts.
24 And know whether the way of wickedness be in me, And lead me in the way of this life.
PSALM 140
*To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David*
1 Deliver me, O Jehovah! from the evil man: From the man of injuries do thou preserve me.
2 Who devise mischiefs in their heart; Daily do they congregate for wars.
3 Sharpened have they their tongue like a serpent: The poison of an asp is under their lips. Selah.
4 Keep me, O Jehovah! from the hands of the ungodly: From the man of injuries preserve me; Who plot to overthrow my goings.
5 Laid have the proud a snare for me: And with cords they have spread a net: By the wayside traps have they set for me. Selah.
6 I said, O Jehovah! my God are thou: Listen, O Jehovah! to the voice of my supplication.
7 O Jehovah, my Lord! the strength of my salvation, Thou hast put a covering on my head in the day of arms.
8 Grant not, O Jehovah! the desires of the ungodly man: They have devised, consummate thou not, they shall be exalted. Selah.
9 [As for] the head of those who encompass me, Let the mischief of his lips cover him.
10 Fall upon them let coals with fire: He shall cast them into deep pits, They shall not rise again.
11 The man of tongue shall not be established in the earth: The man of violence, evil shall hunt him to banishments.
12 I have known that accomplish will Jehovah the judgment of the poor one, The judgment of the afflicted one.
13 Surely the righteous ones will celebrate thy name, Dwell shall the upright ones before thy face.
PSALM 141
*A Psalm of David*
1 O Jehovah! I have cried to thee: Haste thou to me: Listen to my voice when I cry to thee.
2 Directed let my prayer be as incense before thy face: [Let] the lifting up of my hands [be] as the sacrifice of the evening.
3 Set, O Jehovah! a watch to my mouth; Keep a guard upon the door of my lips.
4 Incline not my heart to an evil thing, To commit works of ungodliness with the men who work iniquity; And let me not eat of their dainties.
5 Smite me let the righteous man, [it shall be] a kindness; And let him chastise me, [it shall be] an oil that is precious, It shall not break my head: For yet also my prayer shall be in their calamities.
6 Cast down on stony places have been their judges: And they shall hear my words, for they are sweet.
7 As he who breaketh and cutteth on the earth, Scattered have been our bones at the mouth of the grave.
8 Because to thee, O Jehovah! my Lord! are my eyes, In thee I have hoped: do not leave destitute my soul.
9 Keep me from the hands of the snare which they have spread for me. From the nets of those who work iniquity.
10 Fall into his nets let the ungodly ones together, Until I escape.
PSALM 142
*Maschil of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer*
1 With my voice to, Jehovah I cried; With my voice to. Jehovah I made supplication.
2 I poured out before his face my meditation; My affliction before his face I declare.
3 When perplexed within me was my spirit, And thou knewest my path: In the way wherein I walked, they laid a snare for me.
4 On looking to the right hand, and beholding, None there was who would know me, Perish did refuge from me, [There was] no man seeking after my soul.
5 I cried to thee, O Jehovah! I said, Thou art my hope, My portion in the land of the living.
6 Attend to my cry, For under affliction I labor exceedingly: Deliver me from my persecutors, For they are too strong for me.
7 Rescue from prison my soul, That I may celebrate thy name: Crown me shall the righteous ones, For thou shalt recompense me.
PSALM 143
*A Psalm of David*
1 O Jehovah! hear my prayer; Give ear to my supplication; In thy truth answer me, in thy righteousness.
2 And enter not into judgment with thy servant, For there shall not be justified in thy sight any living man.
3 For persecuted hath the enemy my soul; He hath prostrated on the earth my life; He hath set me in dark places, as the dead of an age.
4 And perplexed within me is my spirit Within me astonished is my heart.
5 I remembered the days of old, I meditated on all thy doings; Upon the work of thy hands I meditated.
6 I spread out my hearts to thee; My soul, as the earth without water, is to thee. Selah.
7 Hasten, answer me, O Jehovah! Fail doth my spirit: Hide not thy face from me, Because I shall be like to those who descend into the pit.
8 Cause me to hear in the morning thy mercy, For in thee have I hoped: Show me the way in which I may walk, For to thee have I lifted up my soul.
9 Deliver me from my enemies, O Jehovah! With thee have I hidden [myself.] 10 Teach me to do thy will, For thou art my God: Let thy good Spirit lead me into the right land.
11 Because of thy name, O Jehovah I thou wilt quicken me: In thy righteousness bring out of trouble my soul.
12 And in thy mercy thou wilt scatter my enemies, And wilt destroy all those who afflict my soul; Because I am thy servant.
PSALM 144
*Of David*
1 Blessed be Jehovah, my strength, Who teacheth my hands for the fight, My fingers for the battle.
2 My goodness, and my fortress, My citadel, my deliverer for me, My shield, and in him I have hoped, Who subdueth my people under me.
3 O Jehovah! what is man that thou acknowledgest him? The son of man that thou thinkest of him?
4 Man to vanity is like, His days [are] as a shadow that is passing.
5 O Jehovah! bow thy heavens and descend: Touch the mountains and they shall smoke.
6 Thunder forth thunderings and scatter them; Shoot out thy arrows, and destroy them.
7 Send thy hand from on high; Rescue me and deliver me from waters great, From the hand of the sons of the alien.
8 For their mouth hath spoken falsehood, And their right hand is a right hand of deceit.
9 O God! a song that is new I will sing to thee: Upon the nablum, upon the psaltery I will sing psalms to thee 10 Who givest salvation to kings, Who redeemest David his servant from the hurtful sword.
11 Redeem me, and rescue me, From the hand of the sons of the alien, Whose mouth hath spoken falsehood, And their right hand is a right hand of deceit.
12 Because our sons are as plants Which have grown up in their youth; Our daughters as corners polished After the similitude of a palace.
13 Our recesses full, Supplying all kinds of good things. Our sheep bringing forth thousands, [Yea] ten thousands in our streets.
14 Our oxen to the burden accustomed; No breach, nor going out, Nor cry in our streets.
15 Happy the people to whom it is so, To whom Jehovah is their God.
PSALM 145
*Praise of David*
1 I will exalt thee, my God, my King! And will bless thy name for ever and ever.
2 Every day will I bless thee, And praise thy name for ever and ever.
3 Great is Jehovah, and to be praised greatly, And his greatness is incomprehensible.
4 Generation to generation shall praise thy works, And thy power they shall declare.
5 Upon the majesty of the glory of thy excellence, And upon the words of thy wonders, I will meditate.
6 And the might of thy terrible works shall they recount; And thy greatness I will declare.
7 The memory of the greatness of thy goodness they shall speak forth; And of thy righteousness they shall sing.
8 Gracious and compassionate is Jehovah, Slow to anger and great in clemency.
9 Good is Jehovah to all, And his compassions are over all his works.
10 Celebrate thee, O Jehovah! shall all thy works, And thy meek ones shall bless thee.
11 Of the glory of thy kingdom they shall tell, And of thy power they shall speak:
12 To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, And the glory of the beauty of his kingdom.
13 Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all ages, And thy dominion is throughout generations of generations.
14 Uphold doth Jehovah all the falling, He raiseth up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all in thee do hope, And thou givest them their food in its season.
16 Thou openest thy hand And satisfiest every living creature by thy good pleasure.
17 Righteous is Jehovah in all his ways, And merciful in all his works.
18 Near is Jehovah to all who call upon him, To all who call upon him in truth.
19 The desire of those who fear him he will perform, And their cry he will hear, told he will save then,.
20 Keep doth Jehovah all who love him, And all the wicked he will destroy.
21 The praise of Jehovah speak shall my mouth: And bless shall all flesh his holy name for ever and ever.
PSALM 146
*Hallelujah*
1 Praise, O my soul! Jehovah.
2 I will praise Jehovah in my life; I will sing psalms to my God, while I have being.
3 Confide not in princes, Nor in the son of man, in whom there is not help.
4 Go forth shall his breath, He shall return to his earth, In that day perish shall his thoughts.
5 Blessed is he who hath for his help the God of Jacob; Whose hope is in Jehovah, his God:
6 Who made heaven and earth, The sea, and all that is in them: Who keepeth truth for ever:
7 Who doeth judgment for those who are unrighteously oppressed: Who giveth bread to the hungry: Jehovah looseth the prisoners;
8 Jehovah enlighteneth the blind; Jehovah raiseth up those who are bowed down; Jehovah loveth the righteous;
9 Jehovah keepeth the strangers; The orphan and the widow he succoureth; And the way of the ungodly he will destroy.
10 Reign shall Jehovah for ever: Thy God, O Zion, is from generation to generation. Hallelujah.
PSALM 147
1 Praise ye God; For it is a good thing to sing psalms to our God, For it is pleasant, comely is praise.
2 Build up Jerusalem doth Jehovah, The dispersed of Israel he will gather.
3 He healeth the contrite in heart; He bindeth their sorrows. ff156 4 He counteth the multitude of the stars: To each of them names doth he give.
5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power, His understanding is infinite.
6 Raise up the afflicted ones doth Jehovah, He casteth down the ungodly ones to the ground.
7 Sing to Jehovah in praise, Sing psalms to our God upon the harp.
8 Who covereth the heavens with clouds, Who prepareth for the earth rain, Who maketh to spring up grass upon the mountains, 9 Who giveth to the cattle their food, To the young ones ff157 of the ravens which cry to him.
10 Nor in the strength of the horse will he take pleasure, Nor in the legs of man will he delight.
11 Delight doth Jehovah in those who fear him, [In those] who hope in his mercy.
12 Celebrate, O Jerusalem! Jehovah; Praise thy God, O Zion!
13 For he strengtheneth the bars of thy gates; He blesseth thy children in the midst of thee.
14 Who maketh in thy borders peace; With the fatness of wheat he satisfieth thee.
15 When he sendeth forth his word upon the earth, Very swiftly run doth his word.
16 Who giveth snow white as wool; The hoarfrost as ashes he scattereth.
17 He casteth forth his ice as morsels: Before his cold who shall stand?
18 He shall send his word: red shall melt them: Blow shall his breath, and flow shall the waters.
19 He announceth his words to Jacob, his statutes and his judgments to Israel.
20 He hath not done so to every nation, And his judgments he hath not made known to them. Hallelujah.
PSALM 148
*Hallelujah*
1 Praise ye Jehovah from the heavens; Praise him in the heights.
2 Praise him, all ye his angels! Praise him, all ye his armies!
3 Praise him, ye Sun and Moon! Praise him, all ye shining stars!
4 Praise him, ye heavens of heavens! And ye waters above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of Jehovah; For he commanded and they were created:
6 And he established them for ever: For ever he hath set for them a decree, and it shall not pass beyond.
7 Praise Jehovah, ye creatures from the earth! Dragons, and all deeps!
8 Fire and hail, snow and ice! Wind of storm, executing his word!
9 Mountains, and all hills! The tree bearing fruit, and all cedars!
10 Wild beasts, and all cattle! Reptile, and winged birds!
11 Kings of the earth, and all peoples! Princes, and all judges of the earth!
12 Young men, and also maidens! Old men with children!
13 Let them praise the name of Jehovah; For high is his name alone; His praise is above the earth and heavens.
14 And he hath exalted the horn of his people: Praise is to all his merciful ones, To the children of Israel, A people which is near to him. Hallelujah.
PSALM 149
*Hallelujah*
1 Sing ye to Jehovah a song that is new: His praise is in the assembly of the merciful ones.
2 Rejoice let Israel in his Maker; Let the children of Zion exult in their king:
3 Let them praise his name on the pipe: On the timbrel and the harp let them sing psalms to him.
4 For taken pleasure hath Jehovah in his people: He will glorify the poor ones unto salvation.
5 Exult let the merciful ones in glory; Let them shout with joy on their couches.
6 The exaltations of God are in their mouth, And a sword of two edges in their hand;
7 To execute vengeance on the heathen, Chastisements on the nations:
8 To bind their kings with chains, And their nobles with fetters of iron:
9 To execute upon them the judgment written. This honor is to all his merciful ones. Hallelujah.
PSALM 150
*Hallelujah*
1 Praise God in his sanctuary; Praise him in the firmament of his power.
2 Praise him in his might; Praise him for the multitude of his greatness:
3 Praise him with sound of trumpet; Praise him with nablum and harp.
4 Praise him with timbrel and pipe; Praise him with strings and organ.
5 Praise him with cymbals of sound; Praise him with cymbals of shouting.
6 Let every thing that breatheth praise God. Hallelujah.
TABLES AND INDICES
TO THE
COMMENTARY
ON
THE BOOK OF PSALMS
TABLE
OF THOSE PASSAGES IN THE PSALMS WHICH ARE QUOTED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.
Ps Vs Quoted in Ps Vs Quoted in
2 1, 2
Acts 4:25, 26
69 10.
2 7
2 9 <66027>Revelations 2:27
5 10
8 3
8 5
8 6 1 Corinthians 15:9
10 7
14 1
16 8
18 50
19 5
22 2
22 19
22 19
22 23
24 1 1 Corinthians 10:26
32 1, 2 Romans 4:7, 8
34 13 1 Peter 3:10
35 19
36 2
40 7
41 9
44 22
45 7, 8 Hebrews 1:8, 9
51 6
68 19
69 10
TABLE
OF THE PARTICULAR SUBJECTS OF EACH PSALM ACCORDING TO CALVIN’S INTERPRETATION.
Psalms sung at the Passover, 111-118
The Believer’s Scruples, arising from the Prosperity of the Wicked, removed by Revealed Religion and the considerations of their Latter End, 73. — sung at the Feast of Trumpets, 81
Meditations of the Believer, in which he encourages himself and others to hope in God, and fortifies his mind against the Assaults of temptation, 62. — sung at the Feast of Tabernacles, 65 67
The high value which the Believer sets on God’s Sanctuary, 42, 43, 74. David’s Prayers for Protection and Deliverance from his Enemies, 3, 4, 9, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 64, 70, 71, 86.
Humility of Spirit exemplified, 131.
— confidence in God in Danger, 142.
The Believer’s Prayers for Protection and Deliverance from Wicked Men, 3, 4, 5, 10,12, 13, 17, 25, 26, 42, 43, 54, 120, 140. — Thanksgivings for Deliverance from his Enemies, 11, 18, 27, 31, 40, 68, 138.
Jehovah celebrated as the Guardian of His People, 121.
— Good Resolutions in prospect of being put in possession of the Throne, 101.
The Believer’s Potential Confessions and Deprecations, 6, 32, 38, 39, 51, 102, 130, 143.
— Exhortations to Trust in God, and to study Godliness from the example of his own deliverance, 31, 34.
Lamentations of the Believer when under very Severe Afflictions, and almost at the point of despair, 88.
The Blessedness of the Righteous, and the Final Perdition of the ungodly, 1, 36, 37, 52, 112, 128.
The Believer’s Thanksgiving for Deliverance from great Danger, 28, 30, 61, 116.
True Believers distinguished from Hypocrites, 15, 24.
The supposed Happiness of the Ungodly evanescent; and good men, however much afflicted, the Objects of the Divine Regard, 49. Reprehension of those who place religion in mere Ritual Observances, and under the veil of these shelter Impurity of Heart and Life, 50.
The Goodness of God to His Ancient People, 77, 78, 105, 114.
The Believer separates himself from idolaters, and rest in God as his Portion, 16.
Prophetic Denunciations against the Enemies of Christ, 109.
The Protection which God affords to His People in the hour of Danger or Calamity, 91.
The Excellence of God’s Word, 19, 119.
Jehovah celebrated as the Shepherd of His People, 23.
Celebration of the Glory of God as manifested in Creation, and in the Order and various Wonders of Nature, 19, 29, 93, 104. The Stubborn and Ungrateful Character of God’s Ancient People, 78, 95.
The Providence of God on Shipwrecks, Famines, and in all the ills which befall Mankind, as well as in the Happy Issue of Events, 117.
The Jewish Church’s Confession of the Sins of their Fathers, 116.
The Divine Omniscience, 139.
Corrupt State of the Jewish Church brought about by the Reign of Saul 14, 53.
The Blessing of having Children, 127.
A Common Form of Prayer to be used by the Ancient Church in behalf of the King and Kingdom of Israel when threatened with Danger, 20.
Prayers for Defense and Personal Protection, when Persecuted under False Charges, 7, 35.
A Public and Solemn Thanksgiving for the Prosperous Condition of the King of Israel, 21.
Prayers that the spirit may be bridled under unprovoked Injuries, 141.
Jerusalem celebrated as the Seat of the Ark and of the Worship of God, 122.
On Uncharitable Judgments pronounced on the Righteous when severely afflicted by the hand of God, 41. Prayers for God’s Presence in the Temple Worship, 132.
Kings Addressed and Warned, 2.
Songs of Triumph upon successful War, 60, 108.
Character and Doom of Wicked Rulers and Judges, 58, 82. Prayers in the Church under Persecution, or in the Seasons of Calamity or of Threatened Danger, 37, 44, 74, 79, 80, 83, 89, 94, 115, 123, 129, 144.
Lamentations over the Brevity and Miseries of Human Life, 90.
The Safety of the Church celebrated, 125.
The Believer incites himself to Praise God for the display of His Perfections in the Government of the World, and especially for His Goodness to the Children of Men,
145. Thanksgivings for the Deliverances of the Church, 46, 48, 66, 76, 124.
Exhortations to Praise God because of His Justice displayed in the Protection of His People, and in the Destruction of the Wicked, 92. The Church’s Affliction in Babylon, 137.
The Prosperity of Abraham in Distinction from the surrounding Nations are incited to Praise God for their peculiar Mercies and Privileges, 95, 99, 134, 135, 136, 149. The Church’s Prayers in Babylon, 102.
They are called upon to Praise Him with every variety of Musical and Privileges, 95, 99, 134, 136, 149. Prayer of the returned captives, that God would deliver them from the Calamities with which they were still afflicted, 135.
They are called upon to Praise Him with every variety of Musical Instruments, 140.
Song of Triumph and Thanksgiving of the Returned Captives, 126.
All Mankind, and not merely the Jews, are exhorted to Praise God, 96, 98, 100, 117. The Christian Church celebrated, 2, 45, 72, 87, 97.
All Creatures, Rational and Irrational, Animate and Inanimate, are invited to Praise Him, 148. The Triumph of the Church over the Proud Despisers of God, 75. The Beauty of Christian Concord, 133. Messiah’s Prayers under his Sufferings, 22, 69. Messiah’s Regal and Priestly Offices celebrated,
110. Messiah’s Regal Character and Reign described, 45, 72. Messiah’s Victories, 18, 68. The certain Punishment of the Persecuting Wicked, 52.
FOOTNOTES
PSALM 79
ftc371 If this psalm was written on the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, or during the Babylonish captivity, it would appear, from this verse, that when the Chaldeans destroyed Jerusalem, they left the bodies of the slain unburied, to be devoured by beasts and birds of prey.
ftc372 Similar threatenings are to be found in Isaiah 14:19, 20; Jeremiah 8:2.
ftc373 Street, instead of “our neighbors,” reads, “those that dwell among us;” and has the following note: — “Those foreigners who sojourn among us; wnynkçl, from ˆkç, to inhabit or dwell; geitosin hJmwn, our neighbors, Septuagint. But that rendering does not sufficiently express the distressed and humbled state of Israel, as described in the Hebrew; they were so reduced, that not only neighboring nations, but even those foreigners who sojourned amongst them, had the insolence to deride them, even in their own country.” Dr Adam Clarke explains, We are become a reproach to our neighbors, thus: “The Idumeans, Philistines, Phoenicians, Ammonites, and Moabites, all gloried in the subjugation of this people; and their insults to them were mixed with blasphemies against God.”
ftc374 “C’est, ire.” — Fr. marg. “That is, anger.”
ftc375 This and the preceding verse are almost exactly the same with Jeremiah 10:25. “Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him; and have made his habitation desolate.” From this, some have thought that Jeremiah, who was one of the prophets of the captivity, was the inspired writer of this psalm.
ftc376 “Mettans en avant l’absurdite qui en reviendroit, si Dieu ne punissoit les persecuteurs.” — Fr.
ftc377 “rpk, chapper, be propitiated, or receive an atonement (wnytafh l[, al chatoteinu) on account of our sins.” — Dr Adam Clarke.
ftc378 Horsley, who guesses that this psalm was composed during the distresses of Manasseh’s reign, supposes “the prisoner” to mean Manasseh.
ftc379 “C’est, les condamnez a mort.” — Fr. marg. “That is, those who are condemned to death.” “Sons of death, either those who were condemned to death because of their crimes, or condemned to be destroyed by their oppressors. Both these senses apply to the Israelites: they were sons of death, i.e., worthy of death because of their sins against God. They were condemned to death, or utter destruction, by their Babylonish enemies.” — Dr Adam Clarke.
ftc380 “Sevenfold, i.e., in excessively great measure, — (comp. Genesis 4:15, 24; 1 Samuel 2:5,) — into their bosom.
This is an allusion to the custom of folding the loose garment worn by the natives of Eastern countries, so as to make it a recipient of gifts. Comp. Psalm 35:13; Isaiah 65:6; Jeremiah 32:18; Luke 6:38.” — Cresswell.
ftc381 “C’est, te rendrons graces.” — Fr. marg. “That is, will give thee thanks.”
ftc382 “Car ce n’est pas que les fideles se veuillent yci souler a veoir espandre le sang humain.” — Fr.
ftc383 “Laquelle apparoist quand il fait la vengence des outrages qu’on a faits aux siens.” — Fr.
ftc384 “C’est a dire, de la puissance de Dieu.” — Fr.
PSALM 80
ftc385 This is the opinion of Hammond, who supposes that this psalm “is a complaint of the troubles of God’s Church and people, probably in time of captivity, or by way of prediction of it.” “Why Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, and no other, are here named,” says he, “must be learned from the order of the Israelites’ march in the wilderness, Numbers 2. For there, next after the ark, the pledge of God’s special presence and assistance, did these three tribes follow: ‘Then the tabernacle of the congregation shall set forward,’ etc., verse 17; ‘On the west side (i.e., next behind it) shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim,’ verse 18; ‘and his host,’ etc., verse 19. ‘And by him shall be the tribe of Manasseh,’ verse 20; ‘and his host,’ etc., verse 21. ‘Then the tribe of Benjamin, and his host,’ verses 22, 23. Now the returning from the captivity, the desire whereof is the business of this psalm, being a parallel to the delivery from Egypt, God’s ‘leading them back, stirring up himself, and coming to save them,’ is very fitly. begged, and described in a style resembling the former rescue.” Merrick accounts for Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, being particularly specified, by supposing the psalm to have been written at a time when some enemy was advancing towards these tribes, which were contiguously situated, or was directing his march to Jerusalem, through their territories. “Such an occasion,” he observes, “might make it very proper for the Psalmist to pray that the people of those tribes might particularly be made spectators of the divine interposition. If the psalm was not written on any such occasion, it may be most reasonable to suppose, that Benjamin, Joseph’s only brother by the same mother, and Ephraim and Manasseh his sons, are in the second verse equivalent to Joseph; who, in the preceding verse, represents the whole posterity of Israel.”
ftc386 The argument which Calvin here adduces in support of the opinion, that this psalm relates to the ten tribes which constituted the kingdom of Israel, in contradistinction to the kingdom of Judah, is evidently inconclusive. He seems to have forgotten the fact that the tribe of Benjamin, which is expressly specified, did not belong to the kingdom of Israel, but formed a part of the kingdom of Judah, — a fact which is altogether destructive of the argument by which he attempts to prove that the psalm relates exclusively or especially to the kingdom of Israel. The whole of God’s ancient people seem therefore to be intended. It may farther be observed, that the calamities which are referred to are so extensive and general, as to render it in a high degree probable, that the entire body of that people are spoken of. This view is also confirmed, from the introduction of the similitude of a vine transplanted from Egypt. The subject of the psalm may be the same with that of the 79th — the calamitous condition into which the chosen people were brought by the arms of Nebuchadnezzar.
ftc387 The original word for “stir up” is , hrrw[, orera, from rw[, ur, was excited. “This word,” says Dimock, “seems to convey the idea of God’s having been asleep during the Babylonish captivity. See Isaiah 51:9.”
ftc388 Literally, “wilt thou smoke (with wrath;”) i.e., be very angry. — See Psalm 74:1.
ftc389 “There cannot,” says Bishop Horne, “be a more striking picture of Zion in captivity! Her bread is dipped in tears; and her cup is filled to the brim with them: no time is free from grief and lamentation!”
ftc390 The LXX. read this verse as follows. Εκάλυψενόρη ἡ σκιὰ αὐτῆς, καὶ αί ἀναδενδράδες αὐτῆς τὰς κέδρους tou Θεοῦ . “The shadow thereof covered the hills, and the branches thereof [χοςερεδ the cedars of God.” The LXX. seem to have read hsk, casah, covered, instead of wsk, cossu, were covered. With this agree the versions of the Syriac, Arabic, and Vulgate; and this is the reading adopted by Hare, Houbigant, Lowth, and Horsley. “Is it an extravagant image of a flourishing vine,” says Lowth, “to say, that it climbed up even the highest cedars, spread itself along the branches, and covered the very top of them?” “The image,” says Merrick, “may, I think, well be allowed in the description of an allegorical vine, which is represented as stretching out her branches unto the sea, and her boughs unto the river; especially when compared with what Kaempfer says of some foreign vines. ‘Maximum proventum vites tribuunt, quae nulla jutae cultura palmites per summa spargunt fastigia arborum.’ — Amoenitat. Exot. Fascic. 2, Relat. 9, § 2, page 390. The author of the History of the Piratical States of Barbary (published in 1750) informs us that some of the vines near Algiers ‘climb to the tops of very lofty trees, and, extending themselves to others, form natural bowers,’ page 163. And Beverley, in his History of Virginia, (page 116, ed. 2d,) affirms that he has seen great trees covered with single vines, and those vines almost hidden with grapes. . . . The vine’s covering the cedars, in the Psalmist’s description, might be intended to suggest an idea not only of its extent, but also of its sovereignty, (agreeably to what Musculus writes on the place: ‘Operti fuerunt montes umbra ejus, et ramis ejus cedri Dei: Ponit haec de potentia regni Israelitici,’ etc.,) as a Greek poet has, from this very circumstance, represented the vine as the mistress of the trees. (Nonnus, Dionysiac. L. 12, 278, 279.”)
ftc391 The sea — the river — i.e., the Mediterranean, which was the Western, and the Euphrates, which was the Eastern boundary of Palestine. The Divine promise respecting the extent of the territory of the chosen people runs in these terms, (Deuteronomy 11:24,) “From the river Euphrates to the uttermost sea shall your coast be.” And it was fulfilled in the days of Solomon, (1 Kings 4:21; Psalm 72:8.) In his time there were Hebrew colonies and garrisons near the river Euphrates.
ftc392 According to the Talmud, the middle letter of the word rendered forest in this verse, is the middle letter of the Hebrew Psalter.
ftc393 The boar out of the forest hath wasted it. “This terrible animal is both fierce and cruel, and so swift, that few of the savage tribes can outstrip him in running. His chief abode, says Forbes, is in the forests and jungles; but, when the grain is nearly ripe, he commits great ravages in the fields and sugar plantations. That ferocious and destructive animal, not satisfied with devouring the fruit, lacerates and breaks with his sharp and powerful tusks the branches of the vine, or, with his snout, digs it up by the roots, pollutes it with his touch, or tramples it under his feet.” — (Paxton’s Illustrations, volume 2, page 66.) Homer complains of the ravages of this animal, (Iliad, 9. 535;) and Mr Ward remarks, that the buffaloes and wild hogs make the like ravages in the orchards of the Hindoos; to prevent which, men are placed day and night in proper situations to guard against them. — (Ward’s Hindoos, volume 2, page 327.)
ftc394 “Mais du travail qu’il avoit prins a la provigner.” — Fr.
ftc395 “hnmsrky, (jechar-semenna,) will destroy it. Targum, Will tear it up with its tusk. Fut. pih. From µsrj, he cut off, cut down, consumed, a quadriliteral, same as the Chaldaic µswq. Occurs here only in Scripture, and, according to others, is compounded of çrk, a belly, as though çrkw, will fill the belly from it.” — Bythner.
ftc396 “Hammond thinks it most probable that l[, al, upon, is an expletive, or that it may refer to har, reeh, behold or look, the last verb except one in the preceding verse, l[ har, reeh al, look upon.
ftc397 The original word which Calvin renders branch is ˆb, ben, son. “Where,” says Horsley, “does ˆb signify a branch?” It is; however, so used in Genesis 49:22, where it is said, “Joseph is a fruitful ˆb, ben, bough, or branch, by a well.” The reading of some MSS., and of the Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac, Æthiopic, and Arabic versions, is the son of man, as in the 17th verse; and eighteen of Kennicott’s and De Rossi’s MSS. read µda ˆb, ben adam, son of man. It has been thought by many that Christ is here intended. Aben Ezra and R. Obadiah thus interpret the passage. The Chaldee paraphrase is, “And upon the King Messiah whom thou hast strengthened for thyself.” Hare, Green, Horsley, and Morison, consider the last clause of this verse, “and the branch which thou hast strengthened for thyself,” as a misplaced anticipation of the latter clause of the 17th verse.
ftc398 Horsley thinks that the word hjwsk, kesuchah, which Calvin renders as a verb, “it is cut down,” is probably the noun hjws, with the comparative k, caph, prefixed — “It is consumed in fire like refuse;” and he refers to Parkhurst’s Lexicon, under the roots, jsk, and hjs. “This verse,” says he, “with the two preceding, should be thus rendered: —
‘Return, we beseech thee, O God of Hosts! Look down from heaven and behold, And visit this vine; Even the plant which thine own right hand planted, Burnt with fire like refuse.— At the rebuke of thy countenance they shall perish,’
“ — they shall perish: They, the spoilers of the vineyard, described under the image of the wild boar and beast in the 13th verse.” “The Bishop’s reading of verse 16,” says Dr Morison, “is very satisfactory.” “They perish. This should either be rendered as by our translators and Mr Ainsworth, and then the words refer to the vine of the Jewish Church; but if in the future, as by Bishop Horsley, it must refer to their
heathen persecutors. Bishop Horne mentions both, and the original will admit of either.” — Williams.
ftc399 “Surely ,hnk, should not be translated vineyard, but plant: and probably w should be translated, or understood to mean, even. See Noldius, Sign. 38.” — Arcbishop Secker. “Michaelis and Gesenius derive it from ˆnk, texit, with the suffix h. Bochart considers it an Egyptian word. ‘hnk, verto plantam ex sententia Bocharti (in Phaleg. lib. 1, cap. 15 and 16, edit. Leusd.) qui putat vocem esse Ægyptiacam. Nam, auctore Plutarcho in Iside, hederam Ægyptii χενοίριν, h. e. φυτὸν Osiridov, plantam Osiridis vocabant.’ Dathe. De Rossi concurs.” — Rogers’ Book of Psalms, etc., volume 2, 231.
ftc400 Under the same allegorical imagery the Prophet Ezekiel represents the afflicted state of his country, (Ezekiel 19:10, 12, 13.)
ftc400 Muis, Walford, and others, in like manner, suppose these titles, The Man of thy right hand, and The Son of man, to belong to the people of Israel. Walford translates the 15th and 17th verses thus: —
“The scion, which thy right hand planted; Even the branch, which thou madest strong for thyself.
Let thy support be extended to the Man of thy right hand; To the Son of man, whom thou madest strong for thyself.”
And he observes on the 17th verse, “The Psalmist here quits the figurative representation, and speaks literally of the people of Israel, whom God had chosen, and so greatly favored.” “From comparing 2 Chronicles 36:22, 23; Isaiah 44:26-28; 45:1-11, and Jeremiah 25:12, 13,” says Dimock, “with this verse, might not Jeremiah, or whoever was the author of this psalm, mean Cyrus, by these titles, who was prophesied of as the restorer of Israel, by name, above a hundred years before his birth?” It has been thought by others, and it is highly probable, that the phraseology here employed contains a mystic allusion to the Messiah. The pious Israelites were accustomed, in times of great calamity, to look forward with longing desire to the days of Him who should reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of whose kingdom there should be no end. These striking expressions, The Man of thy right hand, and The Son of man, apply in the fullest and most perfect sense to Christ. If the Man of God’s right hand be the man placed there, to whom can the title apply but to him? for, “to which of the angels said God at any time, Sit on my right hand?” (Hebrews 1:3;) and much less has he said this of any Jewish king. As to the other appellation, The Son of man, it is one of Christ’s most definite titles, being given to him in Scripture no less than seventy-one times; in sixty-seven instances by himself; once by Daniel; once by the martyr Stephen; and twice by the Apostle John in the Revelation. He it is, too, whom the Father has made strong for the salvation of his Church, and who will yet turn away iniquity from the chosen people, and restore them to a place in the Church, so that henceforth they “will not go back from God.”
PSALM 81
ftc401 There are various opinions as to the time and occasion of the composition of this psalm. Bishop Horsley observes, “It is certainly older than the time of David; for the use of Joseph’s name, in the 5th verse, as the name of the whole nation, shows that it was composed before Judah became the principal tribe, while the place of worship was in the tribe of Ephraim; that is, among Joseph’s descendants.” “This, however,” says Fry, “is not conclusive, as a psalm, whenever composed, referring to the events of those times, might use the same distinctions.” According to Walford, it “was most likely written to be sung at some celebration of the feast of the Passover, during the reign of Jehoshaphat or of Hezekiah.” But the generally received opinion is, that it was composed, in the first instance, for the feast of trumpets. This feast was celebrated on the first day of the month Tisri, which was the beginning of the Jewish year, answering to our September. It has been supposed by some, that this feast was appointed in commemoration of the creation of the world, which is conjectured to have been completed at that season of the year. The Hebrew months were lunar, and the first day of each month had its religious services, accompanied with sound of trumpets, Numbers 10:10; but the feast of trumpets was kept with additional sacrifices, Leviticus 23:24; Numbers 29:1. The trumpets were blown from sunrise until sunset. It appears from the book of the Jewish Liturgy, that this psalm is still sung at that feast. “It may have been used,” observes Dr Adam Clarke, “in celebrating the feast of trumpets on the first of Tisri; the feast of tabernacles, on the fifteenth of the same month; the creation of the world; the feast of the new moons; and the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt; to all which circumstances it appears to refer.”
ftc402 “Take a psalm. Ainsworth, Take up a psalm. Bishop Horsley says, ‘The word (psalm) must in this place denote some musical instrument.’ But, with all due deference to his Lordship, suppose a clergyman in the present day were to say to his clerk, ‘Strike up a psalm!’ (quite a similar phrase,) would the clerk understand him to mean a musical instrument? Certainly not.” — Williams.
ftc403 For an account of these musical instruments, see Appendix.
ftc404 Hammond translates this verse thus, “Blow the trumpet on the first day of the month, on the new moon, on the day of our feast.” “The word çdjb,” says he, “must here be rendered, in the beginning of the month, that so hskb, that follows, may be rendered, as it truly signifies, in the new moon. It is true, that from çdj, new, çdj indifferently signifies the novilunium, and the first day of the month; but here, the new moon being peculiarly expressed by hsk, to avoid tautology,çdj must be rendered the new month; i.e., the first day of the month. The Syriac sets this down here most expressly, ‘In the beginning or first of the month, and in the new moon;’ which, meeting always together, were festival among the Jews, and so the trumpet was to be sounded thereon.”
ftc407 The word translated pot was, according to Kennicott, a large vessel in which the earth was mixed and worked up for making the bricks. The LXX. the Vulgate, Symmachus, Jerome, Street, Parkhurst, Ainsworth, Fry, Walford, and others, render the original word, by the basket. Parkhurst observes, that baskets might probably be employed both in carrying the earth of which the bricks were made, and also the bricks themselves.
ftc408 “When he went forth, etc.; i.e., When God went forth to destroy the first-born in all the land of Egypt, on account of which the passover was appointed.” — Walford.
ftc409 “Going forth (l[) over the land of Egypt seems to express dominion over it, which God exercised in bringing out the Israelites; and they were then in what may be called a state of superiority over the Egyptians, and went out with a high hand. Exodus 14:8; Numbers 33:3. And soon after that the law was given.” —
Archbishop Secker.
ftc410 The Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, and all the versions except the Chaldee, have the third person, “He heard a language which he understood not;” Doederlein reads, “I heard a voice which I understood not;” and retaining the first person, interprets the words as an abrupt exclamation of the Psalmist upon feeling himself suddenly influenced by a divine afflatus, and upon hearing an oracle addressed to him by God, which consisted of what immediately follows, from the 6th verse to the close of the psalm, and which is spoken in the person of God. This voice he heard, but he did not understand it; that is, he did not fully comprehend its design and import.
ftc411 “The Egyptian language was not intelligible to the children of Jacob; for Joseph spake to his brethren by an interpreter, when he appeared as ruler of Egypt, and did not as yet choose to make himself known to them. See Genesis 42:23.” — Street.
ftc412 Bishop Lowth understands by “the secret place of thunder” the communication of the Israelites with God upon mount Sinai, the awfulness of which is expressed by these few words. (Lowth’s Lectures on the Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews, volume 2, page 220.) Walford reads, “I answered thee by thunder, from a hidden retreat;” and he observes, that this contains “a reference to the majestic display on Sinai, where, though the symbols of the present Deity were seen and heard, the lightnings and thunders, he himself was concealed from all human view.” The only objection which can be made against interpreting this of Sinai is, that the murmuring at Meribah, Exodus 17, was before the thundering on Sinai, Exodus 19; whereas here the thunder is mentioned first, and then what took place at Meribah in the end of the verse. But this objection is easily removed; for in the poetical compositions of Scripture strict order is not, always observed in the narration of facts. Thus in Psalm 83:9, the victory over the Midianites (Judges 7) is mentioned before that over Sisera, (Judges 4,) which was the victory first achieved.
ftc413 Literally “the waters of contradiction;” hbyrm, meribah, from bwr, rub, to quarrel, being a noun signifying contention, strife. It is therefore fitly used as the name of the place in the desert where the Israelites quarrelled with Moses. “The local specification,” observes Bishop Mant, “as used in our Bible translation, is much more poetical than the rendering in the Common Prayer-Book, ‘the waters of strife.’” “The mention of Meribah,” says Lowth, “introduces another idea, namely, the ingratitude and contumacy of the Israelites, who appear to have been ever unmindful of the favors and indulgence of their heavenly Benefactor.”
ftc414 Street reads, “and I will make a testimony with thee.” “hdy[a” says he, “is in the hiphil conjugation, which frequently signifies to make or cause a thing to be made. The ark is called the ark of the testimony, td[h ˆwra, Exodus 30:26, and the ark of the covenant, Joshua 3:6, and Exodus 25:21. Moses is commanded to put the testimony which God shall give him into the ark. It is plain, therefore, that the covenant and the testimony are the same.” “I will testify unto thee. I will, upon all occasions, give the oracular direction, so that thou shalt have no occasion to resort to other gods, nor shall any pretended god have power to harm thee.” — Horsley.
ftc415 “Ou, perversite, ou, durete.” — Fr. marg. “Or, the perversity, or, the hardness.” Hammond reads: “I gave them up unto the imaginations of their hearts.” Horsley: “So I gave them up to the government of their own hearts.” Fry: “And I gave them up to the desires of their heart.” Walford: “Therefore I gave them up to the purposes of their heart.”
ftc416 “Heathen, or foreign god.” — Hammond.
ftc417 In our English Bible it is, “He should have fed them.” The LXX., Vulgate, and Syriac versions, Green, Walford, and others, read as Calvin does, “I would have fed them.” “This is the preferable reading,” says Walford, “as the common lection introduces a too sudden change of person.”
ftc418 “Nothing,” says Dr Adam Clarke on this verse, “can be more plaintive than the original: sense and sound are surprisingly united. I scruple not to say to him who understands the Hebrew, however learned, he has never found in any poet, Greek or Latin, a finer example of deep-seated grief, unable to express itself in appropriate words, without frequent interruptions of sighs and sobs, terminated with a mournful cry — yl [mç ym[ wl wklhy ykrdb larçy Loo-ghammee-shomeagh-lee Yishrael-bid’ rakee-yehallekoo!
“He who can give the proper guttural pronunciation to the letter [, ayin; and gives the w, vau, and the y, yod, their full Asiatic sound; and does not pinch them to death by a compressed and worthless European enunciation; will at once be convinced of the propriety of this remark.”
ftc419 See volume 1, page 301.
ftc420 “Their time, etc.: that is, the time, the continuance, the prosperity of my people, would have been durable.” — Warner.
ftc421 It is an usual phrase with the Hebrews to call the most esteemed part of anything blj, cheleb, “the fat.” The word is used with this combination in Deuteronomy 32:14; and is adopted again in <19E714>Psalm 147:14. See also Genesis 45:18; Numbers 18:29; and Psalm 73:4. The translators of our English version have rendered it here “the finest of the wheat.”
ftc422 Palestine abounded in wild bees, which, living in the crevices of rocks, and in the hollows of trees, furnished honey in great plenty. To this there are frequent allusions in Scripture. In Deuteronomy 32:13, Moses, speaking of God’s goodness to Israel in the song with which he closed his long and eventful career, says, “He made him suck honey out of the rock.” As an evidence of the great abundance of wild honey in that country, we may refer to 1 Samuel 14:25, where it is said, “And all they of the land came to a wood, and there was honey upon the ground; and when the people were come to the wood, behold the honey dropped.” In proof of the same point, reference may be also made to the fact, that a part of the food of John the Baptist in the wilderness was wild honey, which most probably he found in rocks or hollow trees. In Scripture, the country is frequently described by a familiar phrase, as “A land flowing with milk and honey;” and in Job 20:17, we meet with the strong expression of “Brooks, floods, and rivers of honey.” Palestine is still remarkable for this natural production. It may be observed, that the change of person in this last verse from the third to the first is highly poetical.
PSALM 82
ftc423 Kimchi thinks it probable that this psalm was written in the days of Jehoshaphat, and refers to 2 Chronicles 19:5-7, as indicating the time and occasion of its composition. We are there informed that Jehoshaphat; “set judges in the land, throughout all the fenced cities of Judah, city by city;” and in instructing them with regard to their duty, he uses nearly the same words as those in the beginning of this psalm. Dr Morison takes a different view. “This psalm,” says he, “was composed in all probability in the days of Hezekiah, in reference to certain wicked magistrates, (2 Chronicles 29:30,) who had grievously perverted the administration of justice, who were guilty of great oppression, and who had done much to introduce a state of general national corruption. King Jehoshaphat had reformed several public abuses which had crept into the judicatories of Israel in his time, (2 Chronicles 19:7,) but before the reign of Hezekiah, things had reverted to their former unhappy condition; so that a public national reformation was loudly demanded. The psalm contains an exhortation to the judges of Israel, and a reproof for their negligence and oppression.”
ftc424 “Ou, il jugeras au milieu les dieux.” — Fr. marg. “Or, he will judge in the midst the gods.”
ftc425 “C’est, faites justice.” — Fr. marg. “That is, do justice to.”
ftc426 Horsley translates the first verse thus: —
“God standeth in the assembly; God, in the midst of the gods, giveth sentence.”
On which he has the following note: — “In what assembly? The assembly of his holy angels. The Psalmist, I think, poetically imagines the celestial court assembled for the business of this review of the proceedings of the earth’s judges, and God, in the midst of his angels, taxing their iniquity, and awarding their punishment.”
ftc427 “The Psalmist having thus far addressed himself to the administrators of justice, as if wearied with his ineffectual remonstrance, here suddenly turns away and condemns their inattention and perverseness. The change of person is a natural indication of the earnestness of the speaker, and has a lively effect.” — Mant.
ftc428 “All the foundations of the earth, etc. Rather, of the land; that is, truth and justice, the foundation of all good government, and the only security of a state, are now altogether violated or disregarded.” — Warner.
ftc429 “Ye are all the children of the Most High, an Hebrew idiom, signifying men of the highest rank and power. Comp. Psalm 29:1; 89:7.” — Cresswell.
ftc430 This is the reading in our English Bible, on which Archbishop Secker remarks, “It seems needless to say that these princes shall fall like one of the princes.” He thinks with Bishop Hare that the true reading is not µyrçh, hassarim, the princes, as in our present copies, but µyçrh, harsaim, the poor. The translation, however, given by Calvin, who takes µyrçh in the vocative case, O ye princes! and who, after the word djak, cheachad, for as one of, supplies the people, makes any alteration of the text unnecessary. Gataker also considers µyrçh, to be in the vocative case, which is approved by Horsley, Berlin, and others. Dathe takes µyrçh in the sense of tyrants, but brings no authority to prove that the word has this sense. Le Clerc, in the latter part of the verse, after like one of, supplies the many, reading, “And fall, O ye princes! like one of the many.”
ftc431 This is the translation given of these lines in the French version.
PSALM 83
ftc432 Compare the 6th, 7th, and 8th verses of the psalm with 2 Chronicles 20:1, 10, 22; and the 12th verse of the psalm with the 11th verse of that chapter.
ftc433 The name of this Levite was Jahaziel, and he is expressly said to be a prophet of the race of Asaph, 2 Chronicles 20:14. It is not unlikely that he is the same with Asaph, the author of this psalm.
ftc434 The Hebrew word translated thy hidden ones, primarily means a treasure, and is so taken in Psalm 17:14. Accordingly, it is here rendered by Mudge, and French and Skinner, “thy treasured ones :” that is, thy peculiar people: those whom thou hast hitherto protected and kept in perfect safety, as in a place of security and secrecy. The Septuagint reads, κατὰ τῶν ἁγίων sou, “against thy saints.” The word is also sometimes put for the sanctuary, as in Ezekiel 7:22. Some therefore think that the temple, and the treasures contained in it, are intended.
ftc435 “Ils sentiront a la fin a leur grande honte, qu’ils estoyent desnuer de toute vertu.” — Fr. “Will at length find, to their great shame, that they were destitute of all power.”
ftc436 The Hebrew is wtrky tyrb, berith yichrothu, “they have cut a covenant.” The verb is from trk, carath, he cut, which, with the noun, tyrb, berith, signifies to strike a league, or to covenant. The phrase owes its origin to the custom which prevailed, in ancient times, of sacrificing an animal at the forming of solemn leagues, and dividing the victim in twain, the contracting parties passing between the two pieces; see volume 2, page 264, note. It is then affirmed of these combined enemies of the Jews, that they had cut the covenant sacrifice; that they had slain a sacrificial victim, divided it in twain, and passed between the pieces’ thus mutually binding themselves to accomplish their hostile purpose.
ftc437 That is, the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, (Genesis 25:30.) They were a pastoral people, and made great use of tents.
ftc438 The Ishmaelites were the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, by Hagar the Egyptian, (Genesis 25:12-18.) They inhabited part of Arabia.
ftc439 That is, the Moabites, the descendants of Moab, a son of Lot, by one of his daughters, (Genesis 19:37.)
ftc440 The Hagarenes or Hagarites were the posterity of Abraham by Keturah, (who is supposed to have been Hagar,) whom he married after Sarah’s death. They dwelt on the east of Gilead, in the vicinity of the Euphrates. , In the days of Saul war was made upon them by the Reubenites, who, after having nearly destroyed them and expelled them from their country, dwelt in their tents, (1 Chronicles 5:10.) They seem again to have recruited their strength; but where they afterwards dwelt is not known. “They are probably the same,” says Cresswell, “as the Saracens.”
ftc441 Gebal, which signifies a mountain, denotes, according to some, the Giblites, who inhabited a district on the Phoenician coast in the neighborhood of Tyre. They were a tribe of the Aborigines of Canaan, and are mentioned as left by Joshua to be conquered after his death, (Joshua 13:5.) They were of considerable service to Hiram, king of Tyre, in preparing materials for Solomon’s temple, as we learn from 1 Kings 5:18, where the original word for stone-squarers is µylbgh haggibelim, the Giblites; and it would seem from Ezekiel’s speaking of “the ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof,” (Ezekiel 27:9,) that they rose to no small degree of eminence. The ruins of an ancient city called by the natives Gibyle, situated upon the Mediterranean Sea between Tripoli and Sidon, are supposed to be those of the chief city of the Giblites. If so, these ruins attest its ancient grandeur to have been considerable. Others suppose that Gebal (the Gebalene of the Romans) was a mountainous district inhabited by the Edomites, and extending from the Dead Sea southward to Selal or Petra. By the Arabs it is called Djebal.
ftc442 That is, the Ammonites, the descendants of Ammon, another of Lot’s sons, by one of his daughters, (Genesis 19:38.) They dwelt in Arabia Petrea.
ftc443 The Amalekites were a powerful people, who dwelt also in Arabia Petrea, between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea, or between Havilah and Shur, (1 Samuel 15:7,) south of Idumea, and east of the northern part of the Red Sea.
ftc444 The Midianites derive their name from Midian, the son of Abraham, by Keturah, Genesis 25:2. The history here referred to is the complete defeat of that people by Gideon, Judges 7:21, 23.
ftc445 Kishon is a torrent which flows from mount Tabor into the sea.
ftc446 Oreb and Zeeb were two chiefs or generals of the Midianites, and were slain by the men of Ephraim in their pursuit of the Midianites, Judges 7:24, 25.
ftc447 Zebah and Zalmunna were kings of Midian, whom Gideon, after having defeated their army, took prisoners and put to death, Judges 8:10-21.
ftc448 Endor is not mentioned in the account given of the discomfiture of Jabin’s host, and the slaughter of Sisera, in Judges 4; but it appears from Joshua 17:11, which Calvin quotes, to have been a part of the portion which fell to the tribe of Manasseh. In that passage, Taanach and Megiddo are mentioned as districts adjoining to Endor. And in the song of Deborah, the kings of Canaan who fought on the occasion referred to, against the Israelites, are said to have fought “in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo,” Judges 5:19. This may explain why they are said to have perished at Endor, which was near the place where Sisera’s army were destroyed.
ftc449 “Globum,” — Lat. “Une boule,” — Fr. The word lglg, galeggal, thus translated, is interpreted by Lowth, “any light thing whirled by the wind, chaff, thistle-down, etc.” “lglg seems here,” says Archbishop Secker, “especially on comparing Isaiah 17:13, to be not a wheel, but some light matter, which the wind whirls round and blows away; chaff.” In that passage of Isaiah, where the same Hebrew word occurs, the rendering in our English Bible is “a rolling thing;” and the marginal reading, “thistle-down.” This verse affords a striking exhibition of the nothingness of combined nations before the Almighty. He can make them “like the thistle-down; like the stubble before the wind.”
ftc450 The allusion in this verse is to the fires, either accidental or designed, which frequently occur in hot and wooded countries, and which spread to a vast extent, devouring all before them, and continuing their ravages for a long time. Many Eastern and African travelers describe these formidable and alarming fires from personal observation; and such descriptions serve to give a more adequate idea than would otherwise offer itself to an European mind of the Psalmist’s meaning. This language is an expressive image for wide and quick destruction.
ftc451 “Kindleth the mountains, that is, the produce of the mountains, trees, plants, etc.” — Walford.
ftc452 “Pursue them with thy tempest, is an evident reference to the dissipation of the chaff, and what follows relates clearly to the expansion of the flame.” — Note of Henley, in Lowth’s Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews, volume 1, page 277.
ftc453 “The construction of the words in the close of the psalm lies most probably thus, w[dyw, and they shall know, i.e., it shall be known by this means, hwhy ˚mç hta yk, thou art thy name Jehovah, i.e., that thou art what thy name Jehovah imports; and what that is, is expounded in the remainder of the verse, ˆwyl[ ˚dbl, thou only the Most High over all the earth; that being indeed the meaning of Jehovah, the infinite, eternal, and so the only supreme power over all the world.”. — Hammond.
PSALM 84
ftc454 “Mais au contraire que par dessus tous empeschemens ils poursuyvront constamment a chercher Dieu, et par maniere de dire, se feront voye la ou il n’y en a point.” — Fr.
ftc455 “Il tesmoigne derechef qu’il estime plus de jouyer de ceste liberte d’assister avec les autres au tabernacle de Dieu, quand mesme il ne devroit vivre qu’un jour, etc.” — Fr. “He again testifies, that to enjoy the liberty of assisting with others at the tabernacle of God for only one day was, in his estimation, more to be prized, etc.”
ftc456 “It is admitted that the Hebrew preposition here used (lamed) may be translated either by, to, or for. When applied to an individual, we consider it as marking the author by whom it was written, or the musician to whose care it was addressed, for adapting it to music. But when addressed to a company of choristers, as the sons of Korah, there seems no doubt but it was intended for them to sing it.” — Williams.
ftc457 The sons of Korah were the descendants of Korah, whom the earth swallowed up for striving against Moses and against the Lord. In the narrative of that event, we are informed that “the children of Korah died not,” (Numbers 26:10.) They joined not with their father in his sedition, and therefore escaped his punishment. It appears from 1 Chronicles 9:19, and 26:1-19, that their posterity were employed as porters or keepers of the tabernacle and temple. They had also a place among the singers of the temple, (2 Chronicles 20:19.) Their name occurs in the title of nine psalms.
ftc458 “Or est-il, que depuis ce temps-la, il ne perdit jamais la liberte de pouvoir comparoistre devant l’Arche avec les autres, si non une fois et pour bien peu de temps, c’est ascavoir quand il s’enfuit pour la persecution que luy faisoit son fils.” — Fr.
ftc459 Bochart supposes rwrd, to signify not the swallow, but some kind of wild dove; as he observes, that the Æthiopic version renders it the ring-dove, and the Septuagint, Vulgate, Chaldee, Syriac, and other ancient versions, the turtle. These last probably render it turtle from the resemblance of the name to rwt, tur, the common name of that bird. Merrick, in his version, translated it at first turtle, but afterwards substituted the more comprehensive name of dove instead of turtle, at the suggestion of Dr Lowth. “You have very good authorities for the turtle,” says that learned Prelate: “my objection may be merely an English one. The bird which we know by that name is of all others the most retired and shyest; and hardly ever approaches any building, much less makes her nest in any frequented place. Does not this consideration render it an unfit image for the Psalmist’s purpose here? The dove, which is only a more general name for the same bird, would not be liable to this objection.” But to remove that difficulty relating to the turtle, Merrick quotes a passage from Sir H. Blunt’s Voyage to the Levant, (page 186, ed. 5) in which that traveler says, that in Turkey, all birds are so tame from not being used to violence, that he had thrown his coat upon turtle-doves in the highway. “The Hebrew interpreters,” says the Illustrated Commentary upon the Bible, “believe it is the swallow, and are followed by our version. The word means freedom, deliverance, and may be supposed to refer to the free manner in which the swallow flies. It is only mentioned again, at least by this name, in Proverbs 26:2; and is there also associated with the tsippor, which our version there renders bird, instead of sparrow. In both texts, the meaning agrees better with the swallow than the turtle-dove.”
ftc460 “Comme estort le pavillon de l’Arche.” — Fr.
ftc461 This is the sense given in our English Bible; to the accuracy of which Dr Adam Clarke objects. “It is very unlikely,” says he, “that sparrows and swallows, or birds of any kind, should be permitted to build their nests, and hatch their young, in or about altars, which were kept in a state of the greatest purity, and where perpetual fires were kept for the purpose of sacrifice, burning incense, etc.” He proposes to read the words beginning at the third verse and ending with her young ones, within a parenthesis, and to explain the remaining part of the verse as the conclusion of the sentence commencing at verse 2d; or to read the parenthesis as the close of verse 3d: “Even the sparrow hath found out a house, and the swallow (ring-dove) a nest for herself, where she may lay her young; but I have no place either of rest or worship.” But though it cannot be reasonably supposed that these birds would be permitted to nestle about the altar itself, before which the priests were continually serving; yet it is not improbable that they were permitted to construct their nests in the houses near the altar. “The altar,” says Dr Paxton, “is here by a synecdoche of a part for the whole, to be understood of the tabernacle, among the rafters of which, the sparrow and the swallow were allowed to nestle; or rather for the buildings which surrounded the sacred edifice where the priests and their assistants had their ordinary residence.” — Paxton’s Illustrations of Scripture, volume 2, pages 310, 355. Dr Morison, after quoting the criticism of Dr Clarke, observes, “I confess I see a great beauty in adhering to the sense given in the common version. Though the sparrow and ring-dove are represented as finding a nest for themselves at the altars of the sanctuary, it does not follow that the inspired writer intends any thing more than that, while he was exiled from the house of his God, these familiar birds had a home near that sacred spot where he had associated his chief joys.” Parkhurst considers, that a comparison is intended; and that though the particles of similitude “as” and “so” are not in the Hebrew text, they are to be understood. And in the Hebrew Scriptures, there are many instances in which they are omitted, but where it is necessary to supply them to make an intelligible version. He translates as follows: “Even (as) the sparrow findeth her house, and the dove her nest, where she hath laid her young, (so, should I find,) thy altars, O Jehovah of Hosts! my King, and my God.” According to this exposition, the Psalmist illustrates his vehement longing after the sacred tabernacle, and God’s public worship, by the natural affection of birds, and by that joy and delight with which they return to their brood after they have been absent from them. (See Parkhurst’s Lexicon on rrd,2.) Walford takes the same view. His version is: —
“As the sparrow findeth a house, and the swallow a nest, Where she may place her offspring, So may thy altars be my abode, O Jehovah of Hosts! My King, and my God.”
ftc462 “Ou, du meurier.” — Fr. marg. “Or, of the mulberry-tree.”
ftc463 “Fontem ponent.” — Lat. “La rendent semblable a une fontaine.” — Fr.
ftc464 “Pools or reservoirs of water, as well as wells, are common in the Eastern deserts: the latter are supplied by springs, the former by rains, as here noticed: but both are to be found in considerable numbers in Judea, and are, according to Rauwolff, more numerous in these countries than springs that lie high; that is, than fountains and brooks of running water. Some of these have been made for the use of the people that dwell in the neighborhood; some for travelers, and especially those that travel for devotion; as for instance, such as go in pilgrimage to Mecca. The Psalmist appears to refer to provisions of this sort, made by the devout Israelites in the way of their progress to Jerusalem.” — Mant.
This last clause has been very variously rendered. It has been understood by all the versions, in a different sense from that given to it by Calvin and our English version, which agrees with him. The Septuagint reads: “The law-giver will give blessings.” Dr Adam Clarke: “Yea, the instructor is covered, or clothed with blessings.” “God,” says he, “takes care to give his followers teachers after his own heart, that shall feed them with knowledge: and while they are watering the people they are watered themselves.” Mudge reads: “Even Moreh is clothed with ponds.” He translates the 5th, 6th, and 7th verses thus: — “How happy the man whose strength is in thee! that travel the roads with their hearts. In the valley of Baca he maketh it a fountain; even Moreh is clothed with ponds. They walk from strength to strength; he appeareth before God in Zion.” His note on these verses is as follows: — “I join the latter end of the 5th to the first word of the 6th, (so the Seventy direct, and the sense seems to require,) with a slight alteration into wrb[; the change of number, I have often observed, is not to be regarded. ‘How happy the man that feels himself invigorated by thee; that travels the roads that lead to Jerusalem, with full bent of heart! He goes through the valley of Baca as full of spirit as if it was cheered with a fountain of waters, and Moreh, as if it was filled with delicious ponds.’ (Two desolate places I suppose, through which the road lay.) ‘He grows lustier as he walks; he appears before God in Zion.’”
ftc465 “Ou, de troupe en troupe.” — Fr. marg. “Or, from company to company.”
ftc466 “Heb. The ways are in his heart; i.e., the highways to the temple are the objects of his delight. In the former verses he had alluded to the happiness of the priests, etc., who were always engaged in the service of Jehovah; here he expresses the felicity of other Israelites, who frequented the worship of the temple.” — Dr Good’s new Version of the Book of Psalms, with Notes.
ftc468 “Au reste, pource que le mot Hebrieu Habbacha, quand il est escrit par un He, en la fin, signifie Pleurs: et quand il ha un Aleph, en la fin, signifie un meurier, les uns lisent yci Vallee de pleurs, les autres Vallee du meurier. Or combien que la pluspart suyve la premiere lecture, l’opinion toutesfois des derniers n’est pas sans apparence.” — Fr.
The LXX. render akb, bacha, here by , tou κλαυθμῶνος; Aquila by klauqmaou , “of weeping;” and the Vulgate by lachrymarum, “of tears;” viewing the word as related to the verb ,hkb, bachah, to weep, to distil, etc. “Instead of akb, baca, a mulberry-tree,” says Dr Adam Clarke, “seven MSS. have hkb, bacah, mourning. I believe Baca to be the same here as Bochim, Judges 2:1-5, called The valley of weeping.” But according to others, Bacha signifies the mulberry-tree, which is supposed to be so called because its fruit exudes a juice resembling tears. In our English Bible, while in the text “Baca” is retained as a proper name, the marginal reading is “of mulberry-trees;” and µyakb, bechaim, the plural of akb, bacha, which occurs in 2 Samuel 5:23, 24, and 1 Chronicles 14:14, 15, is also in our English version rendered “mulberry-trees;” and in the Septuagint and Vulgate, “pear trees.” Harmer in his remarks on the passage before us, considers the translation “mulberry-trees” to be wrong, on the ground that the mulberry-tree is not a native of Judea, an opinion which he rests upon what is stated by Hasselquist, that this tree scarcely ever grows in Judea, very little in Galilee, but in abundance in Syria and mount Lebanon. He conceives the cause of its present abundance in these places to arise from the great industry with which their inhabitants apply themselves to the production of silk, and observes, that had this tree been a native of Judea, it would still be often met with there. He supposes that the weeping willow is the tree here meant. Harmer’s Observations, volume 3, pages 253, 254. But it is a strong objection to this conjecture, that the favourite situation of the willow is the watery plain, or the margin of the brook, and not a barren or desert place such as this valley appears to have been. Parkhurst and Gesenius think, that akb, bacha, means a kind of large shrub, (the Amyris Gileadensis,) which the Arabs in the present day call Baca; and which probably was so named, from its distilling an odoriferous gum.
Through this valley, the Israelites, it appears, were wont to pass, in going up to Jerusalem; but commentators are not agreed with respect to its situation. Some, as Dathe, suppose, that it is the place referred to in those passages from Samuel and Chronicles, which have been quoted above. In the Fragments to Calmet it is alleged, that it lay
among the mountains of Lebanon; that some rivulets ran through it; and that it was one of the most northern districts whence travelers were supposed to journey to Jerusalem. De la Roque (Voyage de Syrie) states, that the province, or rather the whole territory of Baalbec towards the mountains, is named in Arabic Al-Bkaa, which we express by Bekaa. It is watered by a river and many other streams. But if Calvin’s interpretation of the verse be correct, the valley spoken of was not a place abounding with water, but some dry and barren defile among the mountains — irrigated by no streams, and clothed with no verdure, where the thirsty traveler was compelled to dig for water, and to form cisterns in the earth to receive the rain of heaven. Dathe translates, “Passing through the arid valley of Baca, it seems to them well watered. The autumnal rain refreshes them.” “The road through that valley to Jerusalem,” says he, “was doubtless painful to these travelers. But through their longing for the solemnities to be observed at the holy city, these and places seemed to them as if irrigated with fountains of water.” Celsius, (quoted in Merrick’s Annotations,) after observing that the supposition that this was a certain valley where fountains required to be dug, would serve not a little to illustrate the subject, and expressing a doubt of its correctness, because valleys are not generally deficient in water, goes on to say, that he would rather conjecture that it was called the valley of weeping, because it was a valley rugged and embarrassed with bushes and stones, which could not be passed through without labor and tears; and he refers to Deuteronomy 21:4, to prove that there were such valleys in
Judea.
ftc467 “Ou la cloche sonnera pour appeler les gens aux prieres publiques” — Fr.
ftc468 “Il dit que les fideles y viendront a grand foulle, et a l’envie l’un de l’autre, comme on dit.” — Fr.
ftc469 “Horsley reads, ‘from wall to wall;’ Merrick, ‘from station to station;’ others, ‘from virtue to virtue,’ in the military sense. All come to the same effect; they persevere through all difficulty or opposition, having their hearts set on reaching Zion’s hill.” — Williams. “I think with Gejerus that the Hebrew may be translated from strength to strength, (answerably to the words from faith to faith, Romans 1:17, and from glory to glory, 2 Corinthians 3:18,) and signify, that whereas other travelers grow more and more weary as they travel, each of the pious persons here described shall, by the refreshments administered to them, proceed from one degree of strength to another, viresque acquiret eundo. As Jerusalem is represented in the New Testament as a type of heaven, I see nothing irrational in supposing that the inspired writer might, in describing the ascent to Jerusalem, have in view also that spiritual progress which leads to the city which is above, the mother of us all. The words before us are certainly very applicable to the advances made in this progress, from strength to strength, from one stage of Christian perfection to another.” — Merrick’s Annotations.
ftc470 “Ailleurs.” This supplement is not in the Latin version.
ftc471 And therefore the verb ãpwtsh, histopheph, derived from this noun, signifies to sit at the threshold.
PSALM 85
ftc472 This explanation is adopted by Walford, who reads, “Jehovah giveth favor and honor.” “The common gloss on these words,” he observes, “is, that God first bestows grace on earth, and then glory in heaven. But this is an interpretation of the ear rather than of the understanding. The writer is evidently speaking of the present happy consequences of walking uprightly as he immediately says. The judgment of Calvin agrees with this statement.”
ftc473 “It is generally agreed, that the subject of this psalm is the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity; in celebrating which, the Psalmist is carried by a prophetic impulse to foretell a much greater deliverance by the coming of Christ.” — Dimock.
ftc474 “ˆw[ taçn, nasata avon, ‘Thou hast borne, or carried away, the iniquity. An allusion to the ceremony of the scape-goat.” — Dr Adam Clarke. “It is a maxim among the Jewish doctors,” says Hammond, “that captivity is one way of expiation, and so to return from thence was a sure indication that the sin for which it was inflicted was remitted or done away. This, saith Abarbanel, on Leviticus 16, was adumbrated in the Azazel, or scape-goat, which, as the other that was slain, was a sin-offering, as appears, Leviticus 16:5. ‘He shall take two kids for a sin-offering.’ And then the ‘confessing the sins over him,’ mentioned 5:21, (‘Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, etc., putting them on the head of the goat: And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities into a land of separation,’ 5:22,) shows that they were to carry their sins with them into the land of their captivity, meant by the land of separation, that land whatsoever it was, whither the Divine Providence had designed their deportation. From whence therefore being now returned, their sins, for which they were thus punished, are supposed to be left behind them, no more to be laid to their charge, if their return to their former sins do not cause them to be called to remembrance.”
ftc475 “Ne faire qu’il ne fust enclin et pitie envers les enfans d’Abraham pour exaucer leurs prieres.” — Fr.
ftc476 “Ou, si est ce que.” — Fr. marg. “Or, Yet.”
ftc477 Walford, who thinks that the composition of this psalm is referable to some period subsequent to the return of God’s ancient people from Babylon, explains this concluding clause of the 9th verse as follows: — “The glory that is here spoken of is that which was formerly enjoyed, when they were surrounded on all sides by prosperity; and when especially they were favored with the tokens of the divine presence, in the performance of all the instituted worship of the sanctuary, when the ark, the temples etc., were in their pristine beauty and splendor.”
ftc478 Mercy and truth are very generally applied by commentators to God; and the passage is understood as the celebration of the harmony of the divine attributes in the salvation of man. The description is one of great beauty and sublimity. “How admirable,” says Bishop Lowth, in illustrating this verse, “is that celebrated personification of the divine attributes by the Psalmist; How just, elegant, and splendid does it appear, if applied only according to the literal sense, to the restoration of the Jewish nation from the Babylonish captivity! but if interpreted as relating to that sublimer, more sacred, and mystical sense, which is not obscurely shadowed under the ostensible image, it is certainly uncommonly noble and elevated, mysterious and sublime.” — (Lowth’s Lectures on Hebrew Poetry, volume 1, page 284.)
Dr Adam Clarke gives a turn to the text, which still more heightens its effect. “It would be more simple,” says he, “to translate the original,
‘Mercy and truth have met on the way; Righteousness and peace have embraced.’
This is a remarkable text, and much has been said on it: but there is a beauty in it, which I think has not been noticed.
“Mercy and peace are on one side: truth and righteousness on the other. Truth requires righteousness; mercy calls for peace.
“They meet together on the way; one going to make inquisition for sin, the other to plead for reconciliation. Having met, their differences on certain considerations (not here particularly mentioned) are adjusted: their mutual claims are blended together in one common interest; on which peace and righteousness immediately embrace. Thus righteousness is given to truth; and peace is given to mercy. “Now, Where did these meet? — In Christ Jesus. “When were they reconciled? — When He poured out His life on Calvary.”
ftc479 “Pource qu’on luy defend de se trouver en public et que chacun la repousse.” — Fr.
ftc480 “Hezekiah, in the season of distress, 2 Kings 19:16, begins his prayer with these words: which may have occasioned the tradition of the Jews that he made use of this psalm on that occasion.” — Warner.
PSALM 86
ftc481 In our English version it is, “for I am holy.” Cresswell would rather render, “for I am merciful and pious.” “That,” says he, “is the meaning of the Hebrew word, which the Septuagint and Jerome have rendered by holy. The Psalmist supplicates God’s favor upon five several grounds, namely, his destitution, (verse 1;) his mercifulness and goodness, (verse 2;) his trust in God, (verse 2;) his prayerfulness, (verses 3, 4;) and God’s goodness, (verse 5.”) — Cresswell.
ftc482 “Ou, tout le jour.” — Fr. marg. “Or, all the day.”
ftc483 Here, and in all the verses in this psalm where ynda, Adonai, occurs, many MSS. read hwhy, Yehovah. We have before observed, (volume 1, page 13, note 2, and page 195, note,) that the Jews, out of reverence to the incommunicable name Jehovah, pronounce ynda where hwhy is in the text. It is, therefore, not improbable that hwhy is the true reading in all these places.
ftc484 “Veu que luy qui estoit homme innocent, voire qui s’estoit efforce de tout son pouvoir a leur faire plaisir.” — Fr.
ftc485 “Quia illis ad manum est deprecatio.” — Lat. “Car ils ont en main la priere et recognoissance de leur faute.” — Fr.
ftc486 The word for “and propitious” is jlsw, vesallach, which Bythner renders, “and a pardoner.” It is from jls, salach, he forgave, pardoned.
ftc487 “Among the gods, i.e., among the gods of the Gentiles, such as Baal, Baal-berith, Baal-zebub, Dagon, Ashtoreth, Chemosh, Milcom, Nisroch, and especially, as R. Kimchi thinks, the heavenly bodies, the sun and the stars. Some commentators suppose that it may mean, among angels, or among princes. There is good reason for doubting, however, with Parkhurst, whether the word Alaim ever positively means princes, judges, or magistrates; and the passage (Judges 13:22) quoted by Buxtorf, to show that it sometimes means an angel, only proves that Manoah intended to say that he had seen God in the person of his angel. Comp. Psalm 89:7; 96:5.” — Cresswell.
ftc488 “This verse has been considered, with great probability, as a prediction of the calling of the Gentiles under the Messiah. See Romans 15:9.” — Warner.
ftc489 The reading of the LXX. is, “Let my heart rejoice,” with which the Syriac agrees; and this sense is adopted by several critics, as Muis, Dr Durell, and others.
ftc490 Bishop Law would read, “Make my heart one, that it may fear thy name;” that is, says he, “Let the fear of thee be the one ruling disposition of my soul.” — Quoted in Warner’s Psalter, with Notes.
ftc491 The original word here for grave is lwaç, sheol; on which Mr Peters remarks, that if sheol here meant only a deliverance from death and the grave, the expression, lower, or lowest, would be quite unnecessary. “The lower grave” may, however, be a figurative expression for a state of the deepest distress.
ftc492 Street reads, “That those who hate me may fear. The word wary,” he observes, “if considered without the points, may be the third person plural of ary, to fear; but the authors of all the versions seem to have derived it from har, to see. I read ˚bwfl instead of hbwfl.”
ftc493 “Comme si c’estoit un enfer plus haut, et qu’il y en eust un autre plus bas.” — Fr.
ftc494 “Et est pour monstrer que le secours que Dieu donne aux siens, procede de sa bonte gratuite.” — Fr.
ftc495 “Que des le ventre de sa mere il est serviteur domestique de Dieu, et comme nay d’un sien serviteur en la maison.” — Fr.
PSALM 87
ftc496 “Lesquels surmontoyent de beaucoup toute la gloire, toutes les richesses et magnificences et les precieux ornemens du monde.” — Fr.
ftc497 “Il est advenu desja de pieca.” — Fr.
ftc498 As examples of this, see 2 Samuel 1:19, 25; <19B402>Psalm 114:2; Song of Solomon 1:2; Isaiah 23:1; 26:1, 3; 30:4; 41:2; 55:4; Jeremiah 33:2; Lamentations 3:1; Nahum 1:8.
ftc499 Warner, who adopts this opinion, observes: — “Though the hills round about Jerusalem (<19C502>Psalm 125:2) were all holy, from their proximity to the holy city, yet those of Zion and Moriah (Psalm 48:2) were more especially so, as on them were built the tabernacle, the palace of David, and the temple of Solomon.”
ftc500 Rahab is a poetical name of Egypt, (Isaiah 30:7; 51:9; Psalm 87:4; 89:11.) It signifies pride or fierceness, and seems to have been given to Egypt by the Jews, in memorial of the cruel tyranny which had been exercised over them by the Egyptians during their bondage among that people.
ftc501 “Ethiopia, the land of Cush, which was in Arabia.” — Williams.
ftc502 “These nations, as amongst those best known to the Jews, typify the entire Gentile world; and are intended to declare the accession of all the earth to the faith of Christianity.” — Tucker.
ftc503 “But of Zion it shall be said, HE and HE were born there; i.e., not one, but many men of note.” — Geddes.
ftc504 Horsley, who takes this view, translates —
“And every one shall say of Zion, He was born there:”
on which he has the following note: — “Unusquisque, every one. Every one shall confess, to the honor of the Israelites, that the Savior was a native Jew.” Dimock objects to this, observing that Christ was not born at Jerusalem.
ftc505 Cresswell connects the second clause of this verse with the first, in this manner: — “Singers also, and players upon the pipe, shall chant, ‘All my wells are in thee;’” i.e., says he, “all my sources of refreshment, of hope, and of salvation, are in thee, O Zion!” He adds, “The phrase, wells of salvation, occurs in Isaiah 12:3, the Hebrew word being the same as that which, in our two English versions of the Psalms, is translated springs and fountains.” Walford connects the two clauses in the same manner, “They sing with musical instruments, ‘All my springs are in thee.’” “The persons who are here said to sing,” he observes, “accompanied by musical instruments, are the people spoken of in verse 6. They are described as uniting in a joyful song of praise and thanksgiving; and the burden of their song is, ‘All my springs are in thee.’ Springs or fountains are a constant image for the blessings which are productive of refreshment and happiness. These new-born converts are, therefore, represented as joining the universal Church, and offering ascriptions of praise to God, who is the overflowing source of all the streams of good, which refresh and bless the people.”
PSALM 88
ftc506 “Afin que les fideles en chantant Pseaumes et Cantiques monstrent la souvenance qu’ils ont des benefices receus, et luy en facent recognoissance.” — Fr.
ftc507 “As well the singers as players, or dancers, shall be there; i.e., the whole chorus of joy and praise. Dr Chandler renders it, ‘They shall sing like those that lead up the dance;’ i.e., with joy and exultation.” — Williams. Symmachus and Aquila translate the text:— …Kai aJdontev ὡς cwroi, pasai phgai en soi : “And they shall sing as in leading up a dance; ‘All my fountains are in thee.’”
ftc508 There are various opinions as to the occasion of the composition of this psalm. Dr Kennicott conceives it to be the prayer of a person shut up in a separate house because of the leprosy, who seems to have been in the last stage of that distemper; this disease, under the Mosaic dispensation, having been supposed to come from the immediate stroke of God. Kimchi is of opinion that it was written in the name of the Jewish people during the captivity, in the language of a poor slave under his chains. Bishop Patrick supposes that Heman, the author of it, was during the same period cast into a dark prison, (see verses 5, 6,) or, that he was otherwise as miserably treated, as if he had been in a dungeon; and that he here bewails his private calamity.
ftc509 The Heman mentioned in that text has been supposed by some to be the son of Zerah, one of Judah’s sons, by his daughter-in-law Tamar, spoken of in 1 Chronicles 2:6. If these two passages refer to the same persons, then as the grandchildren of Judah are called in 1 Kings 4:31, the sons of Mahol, it would follow that Mahol was either another name of Zerah or the name of his wife. If this Heman was the author of the psalm before us, and if Ethan, his brother, wrote the subsequent psalm, as they lived at least one hundred and seventy years before Moses, these poems are the oldest poetical compositions extant, and the most ancient part of divine revelation. This, however, is far from being certain. Heman, the grandson of Judah, may have been the author of the 78th psalm; but the 79th could not have been written by Ethan, his brother, as it speaks of transactions that took place long after his time, at least as late as the days of David, who is particularly mentioned in it. Calvin obviously considers this Heman to have lived in the time of David or Solomon. There is a person of the same name who was constituted by David one of the chiefs of the sacred singers, 1 Chronicles 25:1. But he was a Levite, whereas the present
Heman is called an Ezrahite, which is understood to denote a descendant from Zerah, the son of Judah. If, therefore, the chief musician in the time of David be intended, some transcriber must have erroneously applied to him the term Ezrahite. But if the psalm, as is supposed by many, was written during the Babylonish captivity, it must have been written by a different person.
ftc510 Street renders the title, “An instructive psalm in sickness, through affliction, by Aiman, the Ezrahite.” He observes, “hljm, sickness, is used, Exodus 23:25. The word tlhm, is the construct form of it.” He adds — “ The title thus translated agrees with the matter contained in the psalm.”
ftc511 See volume 2, page 320, note 2. Some consider the words twn[l tljm, Machalath Leannoth, which Calvin renders “Machalath, to make humble,” as together denoting an instrument of music. “For my part,” says Dr Morison, “I lean to the idea that these words are intended to denote some musical instrument of the plaintive order; and in this opinion Kimchi and other Jewish writers perfectly agree. They assert that it was a wind-instrument, answering very much to the flute, and employed mainly in giving utterance to sentiments of grief, upon occasions of great sorrow and lamentation.”
ftc512 rbg geber, therefore, denotes a man “when in vigorous manhood; who is neither a boy nor an old man, yet it is applied to Balaam, when old, in Numbers 24:4.” — Bythner.
ftc513 “‘Free among the dead,’ inter mortuos liber,” says Dr Adam Clarke, “has been applied by the Fathers to our Lord’s voluntary death: all others were obliged to die; He alone gave up his life, and could take it again, (John 10:18.) He went into the grave and came out when he chose. The dead are bound in the grave: He was free, and not obliged to continue in that state as they were.”
ftc514 This verse has been supposed to contain a reference to the condition of the leper under the law, which much resembled the picture here drawn. yçpj, chophshi, from çpj, chophash, “is free,” says Hammond, (“in opposition to servitude,) manumitted, set at liberty. The use of this word may more generally be taken from 2 Chronicles 26:21, where of Uzziah, being a leper, it is said, that he dwelt, tyçpjh tyb, ‘in an house of freedom, for he was cut off from the house of the Lord.’ The meaning is, that after the manner of the lepers, he was excluded from the temple, and dwelt, µlçwry ˆm rb, saith the Chaldee, there, in some place without Jerusalem, which is therefore called the ‘house of freedom,’ because such as were there were exempt from the common affairs, and shut up from the conversation of men. And in comparison with these, they that are, as it were, dead and laid in their graves, are here said to be free, i.e., removed from all the affairs and conversation of the world.”
ftc515 “This verse,” observes Dr Adam Clarke, “has been supposed to express the state of a leper, who, because of the infectious nature of his disease, is separated from his family, — is abominable to all, and at last shut up in a separate house, whence he does not come out to mingle with society.” “Heman means,” says Walford, “either that the character of his disease was such that men could not endure to be near him, or that the state of his mind was so disordered that he became wearisome and intolerable; perhaps he includes both.”
ftc516 According to Cresswell, the meaning of this clause is, “That the Psalmist confined himself to his house from the fear of encountering, if he were abroad, the revilings of his former friends.” Walford explains it as follows — “Either his state of feeling was such as induced him to withdraw himself altogether from society, or he was so environed by hopeless misery, that he regarded himself as a wretch confined in a dungeon, whence he could not escape.” Horsley reads, “I am shut up apart, and am not permitted to come out.” He observes, that shut up apart is the proper sense of alk, and adds, that “when it denotes confinement, it always implies solitary confinement.”
ftc517 The Hebrew word for the dead, in the first clause of the verse, is µytm, methim; here it is µyapr, rephaim. This last “Hebrew word,”
says Parkhurst, “means ‘dead bodies reduced,’ or ‘resolved into their original dust.’ I know not (he adds) of any one English word that will express it: remains, or relics, come as near to it as any that I can recollect. It is several times put after µytm, ‘the dead,’ as of more intense signification.” (See Parkhurst’s Lexicon,apr, 2.) “Mortui, qui vivere desierunt, manes, proprie flaccidi.” — Simonis. According to Dr Adam Clarke, µyapr, rephaim, means “the manes or departed spirits.” The Chaldee paraphrases this word “the carcases that are putrefied in the dust.”
ftc518 “C’est, la mort.” — Fr. marg. “That is, death.”
ftc519 Or prevent thee — Come before the usual hour of morning prayer. — See Mark 1:35.
ftc520 “C’est, se cachent.” — Fr. marg. “That is, hide themselves.” Walford reads, “The darkness of death is my associate;” on which he has the following note: — “The darkness of death. I take this literally to mean, ‘My acquaintance, or he that knoweth me, is darkness personified:’ — orcus, abaddon.”
ftc521 The original word for “ready to die” is [wg, goveang. It is literally, I labour,or pant for breath, I breathe with pain and difficulty, as a person in great affliction and distress. The verb sometimes signifies to expire; but it does not so strictly express as imply death, from the obstruction of breathing that accompanies it. (See Parkhurst’s Lexicon, [gg, 1, 2.)
ftc522 The Hebrew verb for “doubting” is ,hnwpa, aphunah. It means “to turn this way and that,” as a person in great distress, not knowing, as we say, which way to turn himself. (See Parkhurst’s Lexicon, hnp, 8.)
PSALM 89
ftc523 The Ethan celebrated in that passage, according to some, is the same person who is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 2:6, as the grandson of Judah. (See page 406, note 2.) But that this psalm could not have been written by him is evident, as we have there observed, from several allusions contained in it to events which happened even posterior to the days of David. A person of this name was one of the chief musicians in the time of David, (1 Chronicles 25:1,) but he was a Levite; whereas this Ethan is called an Ezrahite. Nichols thinks it probable that the author, like Heman, was of the family of Zerah, and wrote this psalm during the captivity, most likely in the time of Jehoiakim, whose misfortunes he seems here to describe in a spirit of despondency, notwithstanding the promises made to David.
ftc524 Ainsworth’s translation of this last clause is both literal and elegant. “The heavens, thou wilt establish thy faithfulness in them.” Dr Kennicott, in his Remarks on Select Passages of the Old Testament, here refers to verses 37, 38, “where,” says he, “it appears that the sun, the moon, and the bow in the sky, were the tokens of confirmation given by God to the covenant made with David.” “The meaning of this passage,” says Warner, “appears to be, that the constancy of the celestial motions, the regular vicissitudes of day and night, and alternations of the seasons, were emblems of God’s own immutability.”
ftc525 “Ex tristi ruinae spectaculo.” — Lat. “Voyant ce commoncement pitoyable d’une ruine.” — Fr.
ftc526 “The word ytrma, ‘I have said,’ is used, in the Book of Psalms, to express two things; either a fixed purpose, or a settled opinion of the person speaking. The Psalmist, therefore, delivers the whole of this second verse in his own person, and introduces not God speaking till the next verse.” — Horsley.
ftc527 “Comp. 2 Samuel 7:11, etc. In 5:3 and 5:4, the Psalmist introduces God as speaking on a subject which he resumes in 5:34; so that the intervening verses may be considered as parenthetical.” — Cresswell.
ftc528 “ — and thy truth” — Le Clerc thinks that the word men should here be supplied, and men thy truth; in which case, the congregation of the saints will have its proper meaning — an assembly of the pious upon earth; and the Psalmist thus describes both angels and men as praising God.” — Cresswell.
ftc529 “Literally who is he among the sons of Alim, (or of Gods, as in Psalm 29:1,) i.e., according to Suicer, the powerful, the princes of the earth. Ale, in the singular number, is used to signify God in Deuteronomy 32:17; Job 3:4, 23, (and in other places of that book;) Daniel 11:38; Habakkak 3:3. But it may be doubted whether its plural, Alim, ever means, as Aleim does, the true God. We have, however, the sons of Aleim, for chief men, in Genesis 6:2, and for angels in Job 1:6; in which sense some commentators have understood the sons of Alim both here and in Psalm 29:1, and with them agrees the Chaldee interpreter of this place. In Habakkak 1:11, Ale is used in speaking of the false god of the Chaldeans; and Parkhurst is of opinion, that by the sons of Alim are meant those kings who worshipped material divinities, such as the sun.” — Cresswell.
ftc530 Ainsworth reads, “God is daunting terrible.” The original word is
≈r[n, naarats, from ≈r[, arats, he was broken, bruised, terrified. “An epithet of God,” says Bythner “as though breaking all things.”
ftc531 Hammond’s explanation of the words, And thy truth is round about thee, conveys a striking and beautiful idea. “The elegance of the phrase (which is poetical) seems to be taken,” says he, “from the style of angels, verse 7th, where they are described as they that encompass God; signifying, that as they wait upon God, and execute his will, so, far above the strength of those, God’s fidelity, his care to perform his promise exactly encompasses him, is ready prest to perform all that he hath ever promised to do.” — Hammond.
ftc532 Horsley renders the clause thus: — Thou hast crushed Rahab, that she lies gasping with her wounds; and has the following note: — “The word llj“, [for lies gasping with her wounds,] “as it is used here, and in Psalm 88:5, signifies not a dead carcass, but a person left for dead, under his wounds, upon the field of battle; a person so wounded, as to be fallen, and incapable of rising to defend himself, or annoy the enemy. It answers exactly to the Greek word , traumatiav, by which the LXX. render it. We have no corresponding word in the English language.” Dr Adam Clarke reads, “Thou, like a hero, hast broken down Egypt;” and observes, “Dr Kennicott has largely proved, that llj, chalal, which we render wounded, slain, etc., means a soldier, warrior, hero; and it is certain that this sense agrees better with it than the other in a great number of places.”
ftc533 “The Hebrew word for ‘the north,’ is derived from a root signifying ‘to hide, conceal.’ The ‘north’ is probably so named; because in our northern hemisphere of the earth, the sun appears to move from east to south, and from south to west, and, towards mid-day, is at all times of the year southerly; whence the north side of a building, tree, or mountain, is usually ‘concealed’ or ‘hidden’ from his direct rays, and is, as we express it, in the shade. (See Parkhurst on ˆpx, 4.) Simonis, also, assigns this as the reason of the name, in the judgment of some critics, or, in that of others, because the north is covered with snow, and of others again, with darkness; and so the Greek word for darkness, zofov, is continually used by Homer for the north: for the ancients thought that the north was always buried in gloom and thick darkness.” — Mant.
ftc534 The original word ˆymy, yamin, for “the south,” signifies literally “the right hand.” As the Hebrews, when they engaged in prayer, turned their faces eastward, they called the East µynp, the face, and the West, rwja, the hinder part. The South, therefore, would necessarily be on their right hand; and hence, µymy, yamin, came to be used to denote the south.
ftc535 Tabor is a mountain of Judea, and Hermon (<19D303>Psalm 133:3) of Syria, the former to the west, and the latter to the east of the Jordan; so that they may be considered as put for the East and the West. Accordingly, the Chaldee paraphrase is, “Thou hast created the desert of the north, and the inhabitants of the south; Tabor on the west, and Hermon on the east, sing praises to thy name.” “These mountains,” says Warner, “were at a considerable distance from each other. This indicates, that the most distant parts of the land shall be equally blessed; have a like cause of rejoicing.”
ftc536 “Pource qu’ils n’ont rien au dedans qui leur acquiere authorite et donne majeste.” — Fr.
ftc537 “O the blessednesses of the people that know the joyful sound; that are spared to hear the sound of the trumpet on the morning of the jubilee, which proclaims deliverance to the captives, and the restoration of all their forfeited estates!” — Dr Adam Clarke. “But let us not forget,” says Dr Morison, “that the trumpet of jubilee was a type of the proclamation of peace and salvation by Jesus Christ. How happy they who, when the gospel trumpet is blown by the heralds of salvation, are enabled to recognize its joyful sound.”
ftc538 “The Hebrew hwhyl, must be rendered of or from the Lord, in both places in this verse: ‘Of the Lord is our shield or defense;’ ‘Of the Lord, or from him,’ i.e., of his appointment, ‘is our King.’”— Hammond.
ftc539 “Sans qu’il y en ait aucune autre cause.” — Fr.
ftc540 The word in the Hebrew Bible for “thy meek ones” is in the singular number; but in the ancient versions, and in sixty-three MSS. of Dr Kennicott’s collection, and seventy-one of De Rossi’s, it is in the plural number.
ftc541 “L’ennemi n’aura puissance sur luy.” — Fr. “The enemy shall not have power over him.”
ftc542 “Quum ultimus esset in rustico tugurio, et inter pecuarios.” — Lat. “Veu qu’il estoit le plus petit en la maison de son pere, et qu’en ce mesnage de village il estoit de ceux qui gardoyent les bestes.” — Fr.
ftc543 “The allusion appears to us to be made to a cruel and unjust creditor, who exacts not only his just debts, but some exaggerated demand, with usurious interest, which was not permitted.” — Williams.
ftc544 This means, that David’s power should extend from the Mediterranean, or Great Sea, to the river Euphrates. Gejerus and Le Clerc have illustrated this passage from a speech addressed to Alexander by the Scythian ambassadors, in Q. Curtius, 50, 7.”Si Dii habitum corporis tui aviditati animi parem esse voluissent, orbis te non caperet; altera manu orientem, altera occidentem contingeres.” “If the gods had given thee a body proportionable to thy insatiable mind, the world would not be able to contain thee. Thou wouldst stretch forth one hand to the furthest extremities of the east, and the other to the utmost west.”
ftc545 “I will make him my first-born; i.e., as the eldest son of a family ranks the highest, and receives the most from his father, so shall David be first in the order of kings, who, when they are legitimate sovereigns, may be regarded as the sons of God, their common Father: comp. Genesis 27:1, etc.; Exodus 4:22; Deuteronomy 21:17; Psalm 2:7; Colossians 1:15. In Isaiah 14:30, by the first-born of the poor, is meant the extreme of that class, they who are the poorest of the poor.” — Cresswell.
ftc546 “Sicuti nugantur Sophistae.” — Lat. “Comme gazouillent ces brouillons et Sophistes de Sorbonistes.” — Fr.
ftc547 “C’est a dire, de son temps.”
ftc548 The original word for “they violate” is wlljy, yechallelu, from llj, chalal, he perforated or pierced through. “When said of sacred things, he profaned, violated, polluted, prostituted, as though, pierced through divine things.” — Bythner.
ftc549 “In virga.” — Lat. “Avec ma verge.” — Fr.
ftc550 Heb. ‘if I lie,’ the most solemn form of negative in that language.” — Williams.
ftc551 “The whole passage, beginning with ‘I have laid help,’ in verse 19, to the end of verse 37, may be considered as a paraphrase of what God had said unto David, (2 Samuel 7:8, etc.,) through the mouth of Nathan. The promises herein recited, we know from history, had their fulfillment only in Jesus Christ. The Psalmist, therefore, in the next subsequent verses, contemplating the calamities of his nation, indulges in the language of complaint.” — Cresswell.
ftc552 “Acsi ex conceptis pacti verbis cum eo ageret.” — Lat. “Comme s’il luy presentoit requeste suyvant les propres mots et articles expres de son alliance.” — Fr.
ftc553 “Par lesqnels moyens ils ont pensé se racheter pour eschapper la main et vengence de Dieu.” — Fr.
ftc554 “Once. Emphatic. It needs not to be repeated: nor will be.” — Walford.
ftc555 “There is a very obvious and important observation to be made on the description of the apparent change that had taken place in the conduct of God towards the family and descendants of David. The extraordinary promises which had been given to that prince were certainly not accomplished in the fortunes of his descendants, the kings of Judah; nor shall we be able to discover how the truth of these promises is to be sustained without an admission of their being given in reference to the Messiah, that spiritual king, who ‘was born of the seed of David, according to the flesh.’ When we take the assurances which were made to David, and which pledged to him the perpetuity of his kingdom, in this sense, the mystery is disclosed, and the difficulty is completely removed: ‘the loving-kindness of God has not been withdrawn from him, nor has his faithfulness failed.’ David has still a royal successor, though the genealogy of his posterity is lost upon earth; a successor who will endure for ever, and whose throne will be perpetuated in glory, not merely as long as the sun and the moon continue, but will still be rising in splendor, when those lights of heaven shall be extinguished, and the new heaven and the new earth shall witness the imperishable glories of the Son of God.” — Walford.
ftc556 “Ou, as quitte l’alliance de ton serviteur.” — Fr. marg. “Or, thou hast quitted the covenant of thy servant.”
ftc557 Some of the Jewish interpreters take this view, and suppose the allusion to be to king Jehoiachin, (2 Kings 24:8.) Kennicott infers from the expression, “Thou hast shortened the days of his youth,” that this portion of the psalm refers to Ahaz, who died at thirty-six years of age.
ftc558 “‘Remember at what an age or time of life I am.’ Or, ‘of what duration,’ or, ‘how fleeting,’ rlj, (by a transposition of letters from lrj, he ceased,) denotes the present time rapidly passing away. Or, the short race of our life; or this world, ‘the fashion of which passeth away,’ (1 Corinthians 7:31.)” — Bythner.
ftc559 Ainsworth reads, “O call thou to remembrance how transitory I am; into what vain state thou hast made all the sons of Adam.”
ftc560 This appeal respecting the universality of death, and the impossibility of avoiding it, meets with a ready response in the bosom of every child of Adam, however exalted or humble his lot. And, when death has once seized on its victim, all the wealth, power, and skill of the world cannot spoil the grave of its dominion. The admirable lines of Gray, in his celebrated Elegy, furnish a very good comment on this verse: —
*“The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,* *And all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave,* *Await alike th’ inevitable hour: —* *The paths of glory lead but to the grave.*
*“Can storied urn, or animated bust,* *Back to its mansions call the fleeting breath?* *Can Honour’s voice provoke the silent dust,* *Or Flatt’ry soothe the dull cold ear of Death?”*
ftc561 “Sur les asnes et chevaux, et autres bestes brutes.” — Fr. “To asses and horses, and other brute beasts.”
ftc562 “De la revelation faite a Samuel.” — Fr.
ftc563 Or, as if our Redeemer were slow-paced, halt, or lame, and his Church should never behold his steps. With this agrees the Chaldee paraphrase: — “The slowness of the footsteps of the feet of thy Messiah or anointed.” Kimchi renders, “the delays of the Messiah;” “the discourse,” he observes, “being of those who say that he will never come.” A similar style of speech has been employed by the enemies of the gospel, as Calvin goes on to observe, who scoffingly asked in the days of the apostles, and who still ask, “Where is the promise of his coming?” 2 Peter 3:4.
PSALM 90
ftc564 “Pour faire la fin de ce livre troisieme.” — Fr. “As a conclusion to this third Book.” The Psalter, as we have before observed, has been divided by the Hebrews into five books. This is the end of Book 3. See volume 2, page 126, note.
ftc565 All the ancient versions ascribe this psalm to Moses, and it is generally agreed, that it was written by him. To him also, R. Selomo, and other Jewish commentators, ascribe the nine following psalms; for which they do not appear to have any other foundation but their own absurd canon of criticism, by which they assign all anonymous psalms to that author whose name last occurred in a preceding title. It is evident, for instance, that the 99th psalm, in which the prophet Samuel is mentioned, could not have been written by Moses.
ftc566 Man of God was a common designation of the Jewish prophets: comp. Judges 13:6; 1 Samuel 2:27; 9:6.
ftc567 “The earth and the world. The latter of those words properly means, the habitable world; that part of the earth which, by its fertility, is capable of supporting inhabitants.” — Walford.
ftc568 “‘Our home’ — or ‘our dwelling-place.’ This image seems to have a particular reference to the unsettled condition of the Israelites before their establishment in the Land of Promise. ‘Strangers and pilgrims as we have hitherto been, in every succeeding generation, from the days of Abraham; first sojourners in Canaan; then bondsmen in Egypt; now wanderers in this dreary waste; we nevertheless find the comforts of a home and settlement in thy miraculous protection.’” — Horsley.
ftc569 “In the Indies,” says Sir John Chardin, “the parts of the night are made known, as well by instruments (of music,) in great cities, as by the rounds of the watchmen, who, with cries and small drums, give notice that a fourth part of the night is passed. Now, as these cries awaked those who had slept all that quarter part of the night, it appeared to them but as a moment.” — Harmer’s Observations, volume 1, page 333. If this psalm was the production of Moses, it is observable that night watches were in use in his time.
ftc570 Archbishop Secker supposes that this may be the reading, and refers to Job 20:11.
ftc571 “Ou, une parolle.” — Fr. marg. “Or, a word.” Dr Adam Clarke reads, “We consume our years like a groan;” and observes, “We live a dying, whining, complaining life; and at last a groan is its termination! How amazingly expressive!”
ftc572 “Pource que nostre vie.” — Fr. “For our life.”
ftc573 In the Latin version it is, “multa annorum millia;” “many thousand years.” But this is evidently a mistake, which the French version corrects, reading “beaucoup de milliers de jours.”
ftc574 Moses, as we learn from the passage to which Calvin refers, “was an hundred and twenty years old when he died, his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.” He was eighty years old when God made him captain of the chosen people; and Aaron was eighty-three years old before he was made High Priest, Exodus 7:7. These, and a few other similar cases, have led many to conclude that the age of eighty was not considered at that time the age of decrepitude; and consequently that this psalm, which limits the average length of human life to seventy or eighty years, must be of a later date than the time of Moses. But this is no valid argument against his being its penman. According to Calvin, seventy or eighty years was at that time, in general, the utmost limits of human life; and the longevity of Moses and some others who exceeded that limit was an exception to the general rule. If this should be called in question, it might be observed that this psalm treats of the afflictions and brevity of life, not in reference to all men absolutely, but with respect to the Israelites in particular, who, on account of their murmuring at the report of the spies who had been sent to spy out the land of Canaan, and other sins, provoked God to swear in his wrath that the carcases of all that were numbered of them according to their whole number, from twenty years old and upwards, with the exception of Caleb and Joshua, should fall in the wilderness during the forty years of their wandering in it, (Numbers 14:27-29.) Few of them, therefore, could have exceeded or even reached the age of fourscore years. It has been thought by some that at that time human life all over the world was reduced to the measure here specified, as its average standard. “The decree which abbreviated the life of man as a general rule to seventy or eighty years,” observes Dr J. M. Good, “was given as a chastisement upon the whole race of Israelites in the wilderness. It does not appear that the term of life was lengthened afterwards. Samuel died about seventy years old, David under seventy-one, and Solomon under sixty; and the history of the world shows that the abbreviation of life in other countries was nearly in the same proportion.”
ftc575 “There is an ambiguity in ˆk, as it denotes either so or rightly. Hence the interpretation is twofold; either ‘so make us to know that we may cause a heart of wisdom to come,’ i.e., so instruct us that we may acquire a wise heart. Or, ‘teach us to number our days rightly,’ etc. LXX. give it another and distorted interpretation.” — Bythner.
ftc576 The great mortality constantly taking place among them could not but remind them of this oath. Dimock calculates that the number of persons who died in the wilderness, from twenty years old and upwards, was one year with another near 15,000.
ftc577 “Early, after the dark night of afflictions.” — Ainsworth.
PSALM 91
ftc378 This psalm is allowed to be one of the finest in the whole collection. “Could the Latin or any modern language,” says Simon de Muis, “express thoroughly all the beauties and elegancies as well of the words as of the sentences, it would not be difficult to persuade the reader that we have no poem, either in Greek or Latin, comparable to this Hebrew ode.” It is supposed by some to have been composed by Moses on the same occasion as the preceding; but others think it was written by David on the occasion of the pestilence which was inflicted upon the people as a punishment of his sin in numbering them, (2 Samuel 24.) It is ascribed to David in the Septuagint, Chaldee, Vulgate, Syriac, Arabic, and Æthiopic versions. Its subject-matter affords us no assistance in determining who was its inspired author, or on what occasion it was written. “There is, however, no reason,” says Walford, “to regret our unacquaintedness with these particulars, as the poem is so clear and intelligible, that nothing in it can be mistaken or misunderstood. The purpose of it is to illustrate the safety and happiness which result from the knowledge of God, and the exercise of a steadfast dependence upon his promise and grace. The sentiments are expressed with great force and beauty; and dead indeed must be the soul to every emotion of spiritual and heavenly delight that fails to be impressed by its truth, or to aim at the acquirement of such faith and reliance upon it as will alone render it productive of the peace and tranquillity of mind which it is intended to bestow. The learned Michaelis is of opinion that this psalm was to be recited in alternate parts by two choruses or sets of singers responding to each other, and that God himself is introduced in verse 14 as taking part of the performance.” It is supposed by the Jews to relate to the Messiah. See Matthew 4:6; Luke 4:10, 11.
ftc579 “Car ceste est la vraye cognoissance, laquelle nous pouvons bailler aux autres de main en main, quand nous mettons en avant ce que Dieu nous a revele, non point des levres taut seulement: mais aussi du profond du coeur.” — Fr.
ftc580 The original word, which Calvin renders “the pestilence,” is rendered in the Syriac “the blowing wind.” Fry’s version has “the blast.” “The simoon, or hot wind of the desert,” he observes, “a phenomenon in those regions too remarkable to have escaped the divine poet in enumerating the sources of danger to human life.” This wind being hot and burning in its effects, when it blows at noon-day, must be still more fatal.
ftc581 “Verses 5 and 6. Jos. Scaliger explains, in Epis. 9, these two verses thus: — Thou shalt not fear, rhpm, from consternation by night, ≈jm, from the arrow flying by day, rbdm, from pestilence walking at evening, bfqm, from devastation at noon. Under these four he comprehends all the evils and dangers to which man is liable. And as the Hebrews divide the four and twenty hours of day and night into four parts, namely, evening, midnight, morning, and mid-day, so he understands the hours of danger to be divided accordingly: in a word, ‘that the man, who has made God his refuge,’ is always safe, day and night, at every hour, from every danger.” — Bythner.
ftc582 As a signal instance of this preservation, Bishop Horne adduces the well known and exemplary conduct of the good Bishop of Marseilles, who, during the plague in that city in 1720, When nature sickened, and each gale was death, though in constant attendance on the infected and dying thousands, entirely escaped the contagion.
ftc583 Calvin’s reading of this verse is different from that of our English Bible. According to it, thou, in the first clause, refers to the Psalmist; while, according to him, it is to be understood of God. Hammond gives a similar version. “Because thou, O Lord! art my hope; thou hast made the Most High thy help or refuge.” All the ancient versions understand the first clause as spoken of God. In the Septuagint it is σὺ Κύριε ἡ έλπις mou, “thou, O Lord! art my hope.” Similar is the reading of the Chaldee, the Syriac, and Vulgate. But the last member of the verse, “thou hast made the Most High thy refuge,” is generally referred to the Psalmist, and regarded as a part of a soliloquy to which, when alone, his soul gave utterance.
ftc584 ajspida. The most ancient versions correspond in this respect with the Septuagint, as the Vulgate, St Jerome’s, Apollinaris’, the Syriac, Arabic, and Æthiopic versions, rendering ljç, shachal, not by the lion but by the asp, though they are not agreed as to the particular kind of asp which is intended. This opinion is adopted by the learned Bochart, (Hieroz. volume 3, lib. 3, cap. 3,) who thinks it probable that throughout the verse serpents only are spoken of, and other interpreters have concurred in the same view. He thinks ljç, shachal, rendered “the lion,” is the black serpent, or hoemorhous; and rypk, kepher, rendered “young lion,” has been supposed to be the cenchris, which Nicander (Theriac, 5, 463) calls λέων αίολος, the spotted lion, because he is speckled, and, like the lion, raises his tail when about to fight, and bites and gluts himself with blood. Bochart objects to the lion and young lion being meant, on the ground of the incongruity of animals of so very different a nature as lions and serpents being joined together; and observes, that to walk upon the lion seems not a very proper expression, as men do not in walking tread on lions as they do on serpents. But the lion and the young lion, the rendering of later interpreters, correspond to each other, and preserve the parallelism for which the Hebrew poetry is distinguished, and the reasons assigned by Bochart for setting it aside seem insufficient. The lion and the serpent are formidable animals to contend with; and Satan, one of the enemies to be “put in subjection under the feet of Christ,” is, in the New Testament, compared both to the lion and the dragon, (1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 12:9.) “Let it be added,” says Merrick, “that the Hebrew text says nothing of walking upon the lion, but has the word ˚rdt, which strictly signifies calcabis, thou shalt tread; and as to trample on the nations, and to make his enemies his footstool, are expressions used to signify the subduing and triumphing over them; to tread on the lion and the serpent may be understood in the same sense.”
Cresswell thinks it probable that the language of this verse is proverbial. “The course of human life,” he remarks, “is in Scripture compared to a journey; and the dangers described in this verse were common to the wayfaring man in the Psalmist’s time and country.”
ftc585 “Dei benedictiones quae ad hanc caducam vitam spectant, non esse perpetuas, neque aequali tenore fluere.” — Lat. “Ne sont pas perpetuelles, et ne descoulent pas d’un fil continuel.” — Fr.
ftc586 “With long life, etc. This was a blessing often pledged to good men during the Mosaic dispensation; though we cannot understand it as being universally accomplished, because God at that, as at every subsequent period, has reserved to himself, and to his own wisdom, ‘the times and the seasons.’” — Walford.
PSALM 92
ftc587 “Car selon que nos pensees sont volages, si elles sont distraittes ca et la, elles s’alienent facilement de Dieu.”
ftc588 “Que si nous commencons au matin de louer Dieu, il faut continuer ses louanges jusques a la derniere partie de la nuit; pource que sa bonte et fidelite meritent cela.” — Fr.
ftc589 “Mais pource que c’estoit un rudiment fort utile au peuple ancien.” — Fr.
ftc590 But although Calvin held the use of instrumental music in public worship to be inconsistent with the genius of the Christian dispensation, he regarded the celebration of the praises of God with the melody of the human voice as an institution of great solemnity and usefulness. He knew that psalm-singing is sanctioned by the apostles, and that music has a powerful influence in exciting the mind to ardor of devotion; and to him belongs the merit of having, with the advice of Luther, formed the plan of establishing, as a principal branch of public worship in the Reformed Churches, the singing of psalms, translated into the vernacular language, and adapted to plain and easy melodies, which all the people might learn, and in which they all might join. Immediately upon the publication of Clement Marot’s version of David’s Psalms into French rhymes at Paris, he introduced it into his congregation at Geneva, set to plain and popular music; and it soon came into universal use throughout the numerous congregations of the Reformed Church of France. At length Marot’s Psalms formed an appendix to the Catechism at Geneva, and became a characteristic mark or badge of the Calvinistic worship and profession. Marot’s translation, which did not aim at any innovation in the public worship, and which he dedicated to his master Francis I., and the ladies of France, received at first the sanction of the Sorbonne, as containing nothing contrary to sound doctrine. But Calvin knew the character of the book better than the doctors of the Sorbonne, and having, by his influence, obtained its introduction into the worship of the Protestant Church of France, it contributed so much, in consequence of its extraordinary popularity, to the advancement of the Reformed cause in that country, that it was interdicted under the most severe penalties; and, in the language of the Romish Church, psalm-singing and heresy became synonymous terms. — Warton’s History of English Poetry, volume 3, pages 164, 165.
ftc591 “Comme aussi la cause de nostre paresse brutale est, que nous avons perdu tout goust quand il est question dee savourer la fin des oeuvres de Dieu.”
ftc592 “Pource que la confusion difforme laquelle se voit en la vie des hommes, obscurcit grandement l’ordre de la providence de Dieu.”
ftc593 “Comme s’il disoit qu’ils ne sont point retranchez, afin que sur le prim-temps ils rejettent derechef, ainsi que les herbes mortes reprenent nouvelle vigueur, mais qu’ils sont condamnez a perdition eternelle. — Fr.
ftc594 Hammond reads “separated,” and supposes that this may be a judicial phrase, denoting the discrimination made betwixt men, as that which will be effected betwixt the sheep and the goats at the last day. Matthew 25:32 — “All the nations shall be gathered together or assembled before him” as a judge, “and, ἀφοριεῖ aujtouv ajpj αλλήλων, he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd, ἀφορίζει, separates the sheep from the goats.” For this interpretation we have the authority of the Chaldee, which paraphrases the clause thus, “In the world to come the workers of iniquity shall be separated from the congregation of the just.” If this sense is admitted, the passage corresponds with these words in the fifth verse of the first psalm, “The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.” The LXX., however, render the original word, wdrpty, yithparedu, by διασκορπισθήσονται, “shall be
scattered;” and the Syriac gives a similar version. Thus it may denote the scattering of enemies, which have been vanquished in battle and put to flight.
ftc595 The horn is worn over all the East, and is the symbol of strength and power. It adorns the heads of all princely personages in Oriental mythology. Large horns, representing the glory of deity, are planted on the heads of their idols, or placed in their hands. The horn is therefore frequently employed in Scripture as the emblem of power and authority; and when the Psalmist affirms that God would exalt his horn, it expresses his assurance of victory over his enemies. As to the animal meant by “the unicorn,” great variety of interpretations has obtained both among ancient and modern critics. The most probable opinion is that of Bochart, who, supporting himself by numerous quotations from Arabian and other Eastern writers, concludes that the µar, reem, of Scripture, is a species of wild goat of a snow-white color, having long and sharp horns, and distinguished by carrying their heads very high.
ftc596 “The verb in the Hebrew expresses much more than a superficial unction, viz., a penetration of the whole substance of the man’s person by the oil. See Parkhurst’s Lexicon, under lb: — fresh oil; rather invigorating oil.” — Horsley. The original word for fresh signifies green. But, as Harmer observes, “We are not to suppose the Psalmist means oil of a green color. We are to understand the word as signifying precious, fragrant oil, such as princes in times of prosperity were anointed with.” — Harmer’s Observations, volume 3, page 257.
ftc597 “Qu’il faut necessairement qu’ils soyent hays de Dieu, lequel ne se peut renoncer soy mesme.”
ftc598 These Rabbins say that Adam composed it immediately after the creation before the Sabbath. The Chaldee paraphrase entitles the psalm, “A hymn or song which the first man spoke concerning the Sabbath-day.” But had it been a composition of Adam’s, one would think it should have been placed at the head of this collection of psalms. Besides, there were no musical instruments at that time for this psalm to be sung upon, (see verse 3;) for Tubal was the father of them that handle the harp and organ; nor, as Calvin observes, had Adam numerous enemies and wicked men who rose up against him, to
which reference is made in verses 7, 9, 11. We may therefore justly regard the Jewish tradition, which ascribes the composition of this psalm to Adam, as fabulous, having no other foundation but the invention and fancy of some of their Rabbins.
ftc599 The palm is one of the noblest and most beautiful of trees. It is more remarkable than any other tree for its straight, upright growth, and hence its Hebrew name rmt tamar. It frequently rises to the height of more than a hundred feet; and its leaves, when it arrives at maturity, are often six or eight feet in length, and broad in proportion. At the age of thirty it attains its greatest vigor, and continues in full strength and beauty for seventy years longer, producing every year about three or four hundred weight of dates. It is crowned at the top with a large tuft of spiralling leaves about four feet long, which never fall off, but always continue in the same flourishing verdure. And it has been said that when loaded with any weight it possesses the quality of resisting it, and of rising upwards and bending the contrary way, to counterbalance the pressure. This tree, then, so distinguished for its uprightness, loftiness, fecundity, longevity, perpetual verdure, and power of resistance, is employed with great elegance to express the spiritual beauty, elevation, fruitfulness, constancy, patience, and victory of the righteous.
ftc600 The cedars of Lebanon are a favourite image with the sacred writers. They grow to a prodigious size, rise to an enormous height, and spread their branches to a great extent, affording a grateful shade. They continue to flourish for more than a thousand years; and, when cut down, their wood is so durable that it has obtained the reputation of being incorruptible. How striking, then, the image, “The righteous shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon,” like that massy, lofty, umbrageous, and incorruptible tree, which continues to flourish from generation to generation, which survives empires, and is still vigorous when a thousand years have passed over it.
ftc601 “They shall still bring forth fruit in old age. Being thus planted and watered, they shall not only bring forth the fruits of righteousness, but shall continue and go on to do so, and even when they are grown old; contrary to all other trees, which, when old, cease bearing fruit; but so do not the righteous; grace is often in the greatest vigor when nature is decayed; witness Abraham, Job, David, Zechariah, and Elisabeth, and good old Simeon, who went to the grave like shocks of corn fully ripe.” — Dr Gill.
ftd1 Horsley translates, —
*“Jehovah is King,* *Jehovah is gorgeously arrayed.”*
And, on the second line, he has the following note: — “The construction of the original is doubtful, though the sense be obvious. The text may be expounded in either of these two ways; hwhy (Jehovah) çbl (hath put on).çbl twag (majesty of dress;) or, çbl twag (majesty of dress) [ισ çbl (the dress) hwhy (of Jehovah.)”
ftd2 See volume 2, page 455, note 2. Bishop Lowth supposes that here, as well as in that passage, there is an allusion to the precious and magnificent ornaments of the priests’ attire. “Such,” says he, “was the gracefulness, such the magnificence of the sacerdotal vestments, especially those of the High Priest; so adapted were they, as Moses says, (Exodus 28:2,) to the expression of glory and beauty, that to those who were impressed with an equal opinion of the sanctity of the wearer, nothing could possibly appear more venerable and sublime. To these, therefore, we find frequent allusions in the Hebrew poets, when they have occasion to describe extraordinary beauty or comeliness, or to delineate the perfect form of supreme Majesty. The elegant Isaiah (Isaiah 61:10) has a most beautiful idea of this kind when he describes, in his own peculiar manner, (that is, most magnificently,) the exultation and glory of the Church, after its triumphal restoration. Pursuing the allusion, he decorates her with the vestments of salvation, and clothes her in a robe of righteousness. He afterwards compares the Church to a bridegroom dressed for the marriage, to which comparison incredible dignity is added by the word Ikohen, a metaphor plainly taken from the apparel of the priests, the force of which, therefore, no modern language can express. No imagery, indeed, which the Hebrew writers could employ, was equally adapted
with this to the display (as far as the human powers can conceive or depict the subject) of the infinite majesty of God, ‘Jehovah’ is therefore introduced by the Psalmist as ‘clothed with glory and with strength,’ (Psalm 93:1,) he is ‘girded with power,’ (Psalm 65:7;) which are the very terms appropriated to the describing of the dress and ornaments of the priests.” — Lectures on the Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews, volume 1, pages 174, 175.
ftd3 “Ou, prepare.” — Fr. marg. “Or, prepared.”
ftd4 “Selon que ces similitudes-ci prinses des hommes ont de coustume d’estre appropriees a Dieu, pour le regard et la portee de nostre infirmite.” — Fr.
ftd5 The Hebrew word yrbçm, mishberey, here used for waves, means “waves” that “beat” against the shore or each other, and so are “broken,” — “breakers.” Accordingly, Mant translates, “Strong the breakers tossing high.” Horsley gives a similar version. He reads the third and fourth verses thus, —
*3. “The floods, O Jehovah! Raised* *The floods raised their voice;* *The floods lifted up their waves,* *With the sound of many waters.* *4. Mighty are the breakers of the seal;* *Mighty on High is Jehovah!”*
As to the fourth line, “With the sound of many waters,” he observes, “This is the first line of the fourth, but should be joined to the third verse. And are not the floods here mentioned, the fluids of the indigested chaos, in wild irregular agitation, before the Creator had reduced it to form and order? Or rather, may they not be mystical, — the tumults of the rebellious people?”
ftd6 “Domui tuae decus, sanctitas Jehovah in longitudinum dierum.” — Lat. The translation in the French version is different, — “A ta maison est donc magnificence: la sainctete du Seigneur est pour un long temps.” “To thy house then there is glory: the holiness of the Lord is for a length of time.” In the former version, holiness is represented to be the true glory and ornament of God’s house; in the latter, it is described as the attribute of God.
ftd7 Dr Morison, after stating the opinion of Mudge, who thinks that this psalm was composed on occasion of some violent inundation, which threatened a general confusion to the world, adds, “It is more probable, perhaps, that the floods spoken of are entirely figurative; and that they represent in Eastern phrase, those powerful enemies by whom the peace of David and the ancient Church was so often disturbed. But though the floods were lifted high, and threatened destruction to those who were within their reach, yet Jehovah was seen, as it were, riding on their most tempestuous billows, and amidst their mightiest tumult, his throne was unshaken and his kingdom unmoved.” In support of this view he refers to other passages of Scripture, as Isaiah 8:7, 8; 17:12, 13; and Job 46:7, 8, where the confederated enemies of God’s Church are compared to the tempestuous waves of the mighty ocean, which roll one after another with resistless fury upon the storm-tossed bark.
ftd8 “Non dubito quin Propheta quasi per hypotyposin Dei potentiam hic nobis exprimat.” — Lat. “Comme par une demonstration.” — Fr. Hypotyposis means strictly the first rough sketch of a picture.
ftd9 “The testimonies of God, when taken generally, are the truths which he
has testified or declared, inclusive not only of moral precepts, but of gracious and unchangeable promises. The combined result of which is, to impress on the minds of men the weighty consideration, that those who trust in the mercy of God must not, in a lower degree, venerate and adore his sanctity in all their converse with him.” — Walford.
ftd10 “Quidam, hwan, pro desiderabili accipiunt: acsi dixisset propheta,
Templi decus esse pretiosum,” etc. — Lat. The French version follows this exactly. But the sentence is unsatisfactory; and there would seem to be some mistake, or omission, in the original text. If the Hebrew word referred to be rendered desirable, then when joined to çdq, the clause would read, holiness is desirable, or becoming, to thy house, etc. — and not the adorning of thy house is desirable, or precious.
ftd11 “‘Holiness becometh thine house — for ever,’ µymy ˚ral, le-orec yamim, ‘for length of days:’ during the whole lapse of time; till the sun and moon shall be no more.” — Dr Adam Clarke.
ftd12 This is a literal translation of the original Hebrew, and Archbishop Secker thinks it is much more spirited than that of our English version. The word vengeance, when applied to God, means nothing more than his retributive justice. It may not be one of the happiest words for representing the Hebrew term when used to express this attribute of Deity, being liable to be misunderstood, as if it implied a revengeful spirit, the sense which it commonly bears when applied to men. “This retributive justice,” says Dr Adam Clarke, “is what we often term vengeance, but perhaps improperly; for vengeance with us signifies an excitement of angry passions, in order to gratify a vindictive spirit, which supposes itself to have received some real injury; whereas, what is here referred to is the simple act of justice that gives to all their due.”
ftd13 Mant renders,
*“Beam forth with all thy radiance bright.”*
“The Hebrew verb,” he observes, “signifies to irradiate, shine forth, as God in glory; Psalm 80:1; 50:2; and that either in vengeance, as in this place, or kindness, as in Job 10:3.” — See Parkhurst’s Lexicon on [py.
ftd14 “Mais les fideles s’arrestent a mediter ainsi en eux-mesmes la nature d’iceluy, afin de s’accourager, meilleure esperance, et soliciter a prier avec plus grande ardeur et vehemence.” — Fr.
ftd15 In our English Bible this verse is put into the interrogative form, and the words “how long” are supplied: “How long shall they utter and speak hard things?” Calvin translates it as a simple statement, and without any supplemental words; which Archbishop Secker considers to be more correct.
ftd16 “Non seulement le droict commun est viole, mais aussi le privilege que Dieu a voulu ordonner pour les maintenir en sauvete et seurete.” — Fr.
ftd17 “µyr[b, boharum, ye brutish. From r[b, a brute.” — Bythner.
ftd18 “The Hebrew verb denotes planting in various senses: and is with great propriety applied to the wonderful structure of the ear, and its insertion into and connection with the head.” — Mant.
ftd19 Upon this and the preceding verse, Grotius says, “This is a very excellent way of arguing; for whatever perfection there is in created beings, it is derived from God; and therefore it must be in him in the most eminent manner.” It is well observed by Dr Adam Clarke, that “the Psalmist does not say, He that planted the ear hath he not an ear? He that formed the eye hath he not eyes? No, but shall he not hear — shall he not see? And why does he say so? To prevent the error of humanising God; of attributing members or corporeal parts to the infinite Spirit.”
ftd20 “Et certes une asseurance tant lourde monstre qu’ils pechent tout ainsi comme s’ils ne devoyent jamais estre appelez , rendre raison de leur vie.” — Fr.
ftd21 The Latin reads here as follows: “Quis populus tam nobilis, qui deos sibi appropinquantes hubeat, sicuti hodie Deus tuus ad te descendit? Haec enim vestra est intelligentia coram cunctis Gentibus, et sapientia, Deum habere legislatorem.”
ftd22 In our English Bible, the words shall not he know? are added. “But this is not acknowledged by the original nor by any of the versions. Indeed it is not necessary; for, either the words contain a simple proposition, ‘It is he who teacheth man knowledge;’ or this clause should be read in connection with verse 11, ‘Jehovah, who teacheth man knowledge, he knoweth the devices of man, that they are vanity.’ As he teaches knowledge to man, must He not know all the reasonings and devices of the human heart?” — Dr Adam Clarke.
ftd23 “Mais nous voyons avec quelles couvertures tant les courtisans que les gens de justice obscurcissent leurs entendemens afin que sans aucune vergongne ils osent bien se moquer de Dieu.” — Fr.
ftd24 Horsley reads, “the devices of man:” and asking, Did not St Paul for µda read µr[, or rather µwr[? refers to 1 Corinthians 3:20.
ftd25 The original word lbh is “from lbh, which first signifies to vanish, or come to nought, as in Jeremiah 2:5, ‘They walked after lbhh, vanity, wlbhyw, and vanished, or came to nought;’ and if understood here in this sense, it must signify vanishing, transient, that soon comes to nothing; and accordingly the Syriac renders it a vapour. But there is another notion of lbh; it is put metaphorically for ‘stultescere,’ ‘to grow foolish.’
Thus in Psalms 62:11, it is best rendered from the Hebrew, ‘Trust not in oppression and rapine, wlbhtAla, become not vain,’ i.e., .fools, to signify that those that so trust, that depend on unlawful means for enriching themselves, will certainly be deceived, find this the most perfect folly in the event. And the term folly being that by which the Atheist is most frequently expressed in Scripture, will be most agreeable to this place, where the Atheist’s cogitations are described, verse 7, confident of God’s not seeing nor regarding; which thoughts of his, as they are Atheistical, and so false, and so foolish in one sense, as folly is ignorance, so are they most impudent, (which is practical and the greatest folly,) will never secure his wicked actions of impunity, but, on the contrary, will betray him to all the ruin in the world. And to this sense it is, that in verse 8 we find it said in the like style, ‘Understand, O ye brutish; and ye fools, when will ye be wise?’ and so this is the adequate notion of the word here.” — Hammond.
ftd26 “Les hommes ne sont point si sages, qu’au milieu des afflictions continuelles ils taschent d’un courage paisible de parvenir jusques au but; mais qui ceste sagesse-la leur est donnee de Dieu.” — Fr.
ftd27 “Mais le Prophete adjouste incontinent, que ceste sagesse laquelle Dieu nous inspire au dedans, nous est quant-et-quant proposee et manifestee en la Loy.” — Fr.
ftd28 In our English Bible it is “until the pit be digged:” on which Hammond, who gives the same translation as Calvin, comments as follows: — “The rendering of d[, until, in this place, may much disturb the sense, and make it believed that the rest [r ymym, from the evil days, i.e., from persecution, (see Ephesians 5:16,) which God gives to good men, is to continue till the pit be digged for the ungodly, i.e., till the measure of their sins be filled up, and so destruction be ready for them: whereas, the contrary of this is evident, that either the destruction of the wicked is first, and the quiet and rest of the good (oppressed by them) a natural effect of that, and so subsequent to it;
or that both of them are of the same date, at once ‘tribulation to them that trouble you, and to you who are troubled rest,’ 2 Thessalonians 1:6, 7. And this is evidently the meaning of it here, and so will be discerned, if only the da be rendered dum, whilst, (as it is elsewhere used, Jonah 4:2, ytwyh da, ‘whilst I was,’ Job 1:16, rbdm hz da, ‘whilst he was speaking,’) for then thus it will run very fitly, ‘That thou mayest give him rest — whilst the pit is digged —’” Horsley reads the verse — “To produce ease for him out of the days of adversity, Whilst the pit is digging for the impious.”
ftd29 “Que les maisons qui sont destinees aux vivans, pour un peu de temps sont bien concedees aux morts cependant qu’on leur fait leur fosse; et qu’en ceste facon ceux qui neantmoins sont destinez a perdition, demeurent en vie,” etc. — Fr.
ftd30 “Mais pource qu’au regard des hommes ou ne voit pas tousjours une telle moderation ou temperature que sa justice soit apparente; laquelle est nommee Gouvernement juste, apres que l’inequalite est corrigee.” — Fr.
ftd31 “On voit un tresbon accord entre la domination et justice en une equalite bien moderee.” — Fr.
ftd32 Horsley reads, “Who will set himself on my side?” The original words are yl bxytyAAym. “The verb bxyty,” says this critic, “I take to be a military term; literally, ‘to take one’s place in battalion’”
ftd33 “The Hebrew is hmwd. Sepulchrum, Pagn. Silentium, Mont. The Septuagint has τῷ a[|dh; and Jerome in inferno.” — Reeves’ Collation of the Hebrew and Greek text of the Psalms.
ftd34 “ynd[sy, yisadeni, propped me. It is a metaphor taken from any thing falling, that is propped, shored up, or buttressed. How often does the mercy of God thus prevent the ruin of weak believers, and of those who have been unfaithful?” — Dr Adam Clarke.
ftd35 In the Septuagint and Vulgate, it is “in the multitude of my sorrows.”
ftd36 Horsley reads the whole verse thus: —
*“In the multitude of my anxieties within me,* *Thy comforts cheered my soul.”*
And he observes, “The original word w[ç[çy signifies ‘to cause to leap or dance for joy;’ but the English language will not bear an application of this image to the soul; though we say, ‘to make the heart leap for joy.’”
ftd37 “Si nous entendons le glissement du pied, seulement de la mort
corporelle, il ne sera point absurde de dire que le Prophere ait este en ce desespoir.” — Fr.
ftd38 Dr Kennicott reads, “sub specie legis;” in which he is followed by
Horsley: “Framing oppression under the pretense of law.” Fry’s version of the whole verse stands thus: —
*“Is the tribunal of iniquity in accord with thee?*
*Decreeing wrong against me by law?”*
“Legal forms,” he remarks, “have often been given to the proceedings of the persecutors of God’s people; and the sacred institutions, both of the civil and religious authorities, have been perverted to be the tools of oppression.”
ftd39 “wdwgy, (ja-ghod-du,) will collect in a troop. Targ. ‘will heap together evils;’ LXX. ‘will hunt after.’ From ddg, ran by troops, invaded with an army.” — Bythner.
ftd40 “Deinde quid minus consentaneum, quam ut tota forensis ratio nihil
aliud sit quam scelesta conspiratio ad insontes damnandos?” — Lat.
ftd41 “Toutesfois pour autant que Dieu a jadis exerce ses serviteurs en l’une
et l’autre sorte de tentation, apprenons non seulement de porter patiemment une violence injuste, mais aussi les calomnies indignes,” etc. — Fr.
ftd42 This psalm has no inscription, but the Septuagint, Vulgate, Æthiopic,
Arabic, and Syriac versions, and the apostle Paul in Hebrews 4:7, ascribe it to David; so that there can be no doubt that it is one of the compositions of the sweet singer of Israel.
ftd43 Horsley reads the second clause, “Let us raise the loud peal of melody
to the Rock of our salvation;” on which he has the following note:
“The verb [yrh signifies to make a loud sound of any sort, either with the voice or with instruments. In the Psalms it generally refers to the mingled din of voices and various instruments, in the templeservice. This wide sense of the word cannot be expressed otherwise in the English language than by a peripharasis.” Bishop Mant, acting on this notion, has ventured, conformably to it, to specify in his version some of the instruments commonly used in the temple-worship: —
*“Come, let us sing Jehovah’s praise!* *To him the pealing chorus raise,* *With trump, and harp, and cymbals ring;* *The rock on which our hopes are placed!”*
ftd44 “The deep places of the earth,” which are opposed to the “heights of the mountains,” plainly mean the deepest and most retired parts of the terraqueous globe, which are explored by the eye of God, and by his only. Horsely reads the verse thus, —
*“The God in whose hand are the nethermost recesses of the earth,* *Whose also are the inaccessible summits of the mountains.”*
“This, and the following verse,” says he, “are expositive of the greatness of the Godship of Jehovah, generally mentioned in the lst verse. ‘The God, in whose hand.’ Thus, I have endeavoured to preserve the full force of the Hebrew phrase wdyb rça.” Bythner’s version of the last member is, “And the strength of the mountains is his.” He derives the noun twp[wtw, vethoaphoth, which he renders strength, from the verb ã[y, yaaph, was wearied; and observes, that this is “a noun plural feminine, weariness, — by antiphrasis, strength: is read four times in Scripture, and is said of mountains, silver, and the unicorn, the weariness and difficulty in overcoming which, denote their great strength.” Pagninus gives a similar rendering. Montanus has cacumina, the tops, which the Septuagint seems to agree, reading τὰ u[ yh τῶν ὀρέων.
ftd45 “Deum ita excellere, ut longe emineat supra omnem coelestem gloriam et quicquid divinum est, non minus quam supra omne terrenum figmentum.” — Lat.
ftd46 “That is, so as to touch the floor with the forehead, while the worshipper is prostrate on his hands and knees. — See 2 Chronicles 7:3.” — Fry.
ftd47 “Il faut neantmoins tousjours adjoustor ceste exception, que les fideles eslevans les yeux au ciel, adorent Dieu spirituellement.” — Fr.
ftd48 Hammond, after making a similar remark, adds — “But it is more reasonable to take the explanation from the different significations of h[r, [the word which Calvin renders pasture,] as for feeding, so for governing, equally applicable to men and cattle; from whence it is but analogy, that h[rm, which signifies a pasture, where cattle are fed, should also signify dominion or kingdom, or any kind of πολιτεία, wherein a people are governed. And then the other part, the sheep of his hand, will be a fit, though figurative, expression; the shepherd that feeds, and rules, and leads the sheep, doing it by his hand, which manageth the rod and staff, Psalm 23:4. The Jewish Arab reads, ‘the people of his feeding, or flock, and the sheep of his guidance.’”
ftd49 The text reads, “Si tantum nomen Legis posuisset.” This is evidently a mistake of the printer for Gregis. The French version reads — “Le Troupeau.”
ftd50 The flock under his conduct or guidance.
ftd51 The ancient Jewish writers frequently apply these words to the Messiah: and they have argued from them, that if all Israel would repent but one day the Messiah would come; because it is said, “Today, if ye will hear his voice.”
ftd52 Hammond observes, that the particle µa, im, here rendered if, is in other places often used in an optative signification, as in Exodus 32:32, “If thou wilt” for “O that thou wouldst forgive them;” and that therefore the rendering here may be, “O that to-day ye would hear his voice;” — a reading, he adds, which “may be thought needful to the making the sense complete in this verse, which otherwise is thought to hang (though not so fitly) on the 8th verse, and not to be finished without it.” He then goes on to say, “But it may be considered also, whether this verse be not more complete in itself by rendering µa, if, thus: ‘Let us worship and bow down, and kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and sheep of his hand, if ye will hear his voice to-day,’ i.e., speedily, — if ye will speedily perform obedience to him, — setting the words in form of a conditional promise, thereby to enforce the performance of the condition on our part. The condition to the performance of which they are exhorted, (verse 6,) is paying God the worship and lowly obedience due to him; and the promise secured to them in this performance, that he will be their God, and they the people of his pasture, etc., i.e., that God will take the same care of them that a shepherd does of his sheep; preserve them from all enemies, Midianites, Philistines, Canaanites, etc.”
ftd53 “Non erit proprie conditionalis, sed expositiva; vel pro temporis adverbio sumetur.” — Lat. — “Ne sera pas proprement conditionnelle, mais expositive; ou bien elle sera prinse pour Quand.” — Fr.
ftd54 That is, in the wilderness of Midian, into which the people entered after passing through the Red Sea. In their way towards Horeb, their fourth station was at Rephidim, where they were chargeable with the sinful conduct here referred to.
ftd55 Paul, in quoting this passage in Hebrews 3:9, joins the words forty years to the concluding part of the preceding verse: “When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years;” whereas, in the Hebrew text, and as Calvin connects them, they form the commencement of the 10th verse. But this depends on the punctuation system of the Masorites, which the Apostle has not followed. It is of little consequence whether the words forty years are connected with the close of the 9th verse or the beginning of the 10th; the sense in either case being substantially the same. If the Israelites tempted God forty years, he strove with them during that period; and if he strove with them for so long a time, it was because they tempted him. The Apostle shows that either of these readings may be indifferently adopted, when, in the 17th verse of that chapter, instead of speaking of the forty years as the space of time during which the Israelites tempted God, he speaks of them as the period during which God was grieved by that rebellious people. “But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness?”
ftd56 bbl y[t µ[, am toe lebab, “a nation wandering of heart.” Y[t, toe, is from h[t, taah, he wandered, deviated. The LXX., whom Paul follows in Hebrews 3:10, have ἀεὶ planwntai; from which Reeves conjectures, that instead of y[t µ[, populus erratium, “a people that do err;” they might have read,y[t µl[ “always erring.” The phrase, erring in heart, is emphatic, indicating the great stress which God lays on the state of the heart. Moses Stuart, in his commentary on this passage, as quoted in Hebrews 3:10, understands the heart as pleonastic; so that the phrase imports simply, They always err, i.e., they are continually departing from the right way. But the phrase, we think, is intended to convey another idea, — that God, in judging of the character and conduct of men, has a special regard to the state of the heart. It is the heart which he principally requires in our obedience; and this he chiefly looks to in men’s disobedience. When it is upright as to its general frame, design, and principle, he will bear with many failings and shortcomings. When it is insincere, he will set no value whatever on any outward professions or actions, however good in themselves. We ourselves act upon the same principle, and are justified in doing so. If a man discovers that he has just ground to suspect that the hearts of those with whom he has intimate intercourse, are false and deceitful towards him, he ceases to respect and love them, whatever may be their professions of friendship. The lines of the Greek poet, though inconsistent with the subdued feeling and tone of Christian benevolence, which, in this case, instead of hatred to the person, produces regret and grief; yet show that men universally, from their very nature, take into account the state of the heart in estimating the professions and conduct of others towards them: —
“Ecqov gar moi ceinov ojmwv ai`dao pulhsin Ov c eJteron men ceuqei eni fresin, allo de bazei”
*“I hate him like the gates of hell, who, pretending fairly to me,* *reserves other things in his mind.”*
ftd57 The oath to which God here refers is recorded in Numbers 14:20, 23.
ftd58 This remarkable part of Jewish history is alluded to in other places, and for various purposes. Sometimes to reproach the Israelites on account of their sins, as in Deuteronomy 9:22, “And at Massah ye provoked the Lord to wrath;” sometimes to warn them against falling into the like sins, as in Deuteronomy 6:16, “Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God as ye tempted him in Massah;” and, at other times, as an instance of the faithfulness of the Levites who clave to God in these circumstances of trial, Deuteronomy 33:8, “And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah.”
ftd59 In our English Bible it is, “in the provocation — in the day of temptation.” But the most eminent critics agree with Calvin in thinking that it is better to retain the terms Meribah and Massah than to translate them. The places called by these names were so designated from the Israelites provoking and tempting God at them; and the retaining of the proper names gives more effect and liveliness to the allusion. See Psalm 81:7, volume 3, page 316, n. 2.
ftd60 Mant and Walford suppose that it is at the second part of verse 7, “To-day, if ye will hear his voice,” where God is introduced as speaking. “By an almost imperceptible transition,” remarks the former critic, “the person is here [last clause of verse 7τή changed; Jehovah becomes the speaker; and with a corresponding change of topic, the Ode, which had commenced with a spiritual exhortation to exult in the blessings of the Gospel, concludes with a solemn, affectionate, and impressive admonition of the danger of disobedience to it; leaving the warning upon the mind with an abruptness peculiarly well calculated to excite attention and to produce the desired effect.” Dimock conjectures, that, as God is introduced as speaking in the last clause of the 7th verse, we should read with Mudge, ylwqb, for wlqb, (or, as 37 MSS. and two others at first, wlwqb,) “Oh that you may hear my voice this day: that you may not harden your hearts,” etc.
ftd61 “Ab aliis frigide audiri, et contemptim; ab aliis fastidiose respui; ab aliis superbe rejici; ab aliis etiam furiose non sine probro et blasphemia proscindi.” — Lat.
ftd62 “Combien qu’une telle perversite nous soit naturelle, toutesfois pource qu’elle est volontaire, et que nous ne sommes pas insensibles comme les pierres.” — Fr.
ftd63 “Il ne s’ensuit pas neantmoins qu’il soit en nostre puissance d’amollir nostre coeur, ou de le flechir en l’une et l’autre part.” — Fr.
ftd64 “When the Scriptures speak of men as tempting God, the meaning is, that men do that which puts the divine patience, forbearance, goodness, etc., to a trial; i.e., makes it difficult, as it were, to preserve a strict regard to these.” — Stuart on Hebrews 3:8.
ftd65 “D’autant qu’ils ont desire que la vertu de Dieu, laquelle leur estoit declaree par tant d’experiences, leur fust manifestee, comme s’ils ne l’eussent jamais cognue.” — Fr.
ftd66 “Solus ille strepitus, quasi omnium actionum catastrophe, palam ostenderit insanabilem esse eorum pervicaciam.” — Lat.
ftd67 “The men of that age, or, as we say in English, the generation then upon the stage.” — Stuart on Hebrews 3:10.
ftd68 “proswcqiza I was indignant, was offended at. The word is Helenistic. The Greeks use ὀχθέω and ὀχθίζω. According to etymology, it consists of πρός, to, against, upon, and ojcqh, bank, shore. It is applied primarily to a ship infringing upon the shore, or, as we say, running aground. It answers to the Hebrew wq fwq sam, etc.” — Stuart on Hebrews 3:10.
ftd69 “Satis superque innotuit, quia corrigi nullo modo poterant, non temere fuisse abdicatos a requie Dei.” — Lat.
ftd70 See Commentary, Psalm 27:13, and 89:35. “The Hebrews used
µa, in the latter clause of an oath, which ran thus: God do so to me, IF (µa) I do thus, etc. See the full form in 1 Samuel 3:17; 2 Samuel 3:35; 2 Kings 6:31. The former part of this oath was sometimes omitted, and µa had then the force of a strong negative; see 2 Samuel 11:11; 1 Samuel 14:45, alibi; vide Ges. Heb.
Lex. under µa, number 6. So in Psalm 95:11, ˆwaby µa, contains a strong negative, which the LXX., and Paul after them, (Hebrews 3:11,) have rendered eij εἰσελεύσονται, they shall not enter.” — Stuart on Hebrews 3:11. “The expression,” says Dr Owen, “is imperfect, and relates to the oath of God, wherein he sware by himself. As if he had said, ‘Let me not live, or not be God, if they enter,’ which is the greatest and highest asseveration that they should not enter. And the concealment of the engagement is not, as some suppose, from a paqov, causing an abruptness of speech, but from the reverence of the person spoken of. The expression is perfectly and absolutely negative. So Mark 8:12, with Matthew 16:4; 1 Samuel 14:44; 1 Kings 20:10.”
— Commentary on Hebrews 3:11.
ftd71 See volume 1, page 103, note.
ftd72 “Subtilius disputat quam ferant Prophetae verba.” — Lat.
ftd73 “Vetus et legale Sabbathum quod umbratile tantum erat, cum spirituali
vitae novitate.” — Lat.
ftd74 “Mutae erant ac surdae.” — Lat.
ftd75 We meet with a psalm very similar to this, in 1 Chronicles 16, delivered by David to Asaph, to be sung on occasion of the removing of the ark from the house of Obed-edom to Zion. But the ode, as it stands in 1 Chronicles 16, is considerably longer, extending from the 8th verse to the 36th; and this is only the part of it from the 23rd to the 33rd verse. It has been supposed that this part was extracted from the psalm above mentioned, and, with a few inconsiderable alterations, adapted to the solemnity of the dedication of the second temple. This opinion is founded upon the inscription of the psalm in the Septuagint, Vulgate, Æthiopic, and Arabic versions, which is, “A song of David when the house was built after the captivity.” Consequently, strictly speaking, this is not a new song. But it may be called new, from its having been adapted to a new purpose — from its having been intended to celebrate new mercies conferred upon the Jews, and to lead the mind forward to the glorious era of the coming of the Messiah, and the establishment of his kingdom, which probably was the matter of more general expectation among the chosen people, at the period when the temple was rebuilt, than when the ark was brought to Mount Zion from the house of Obed-edom. It may be observed, that the first verse is not in the original poem, as recorded in the book of Chronicles, but appears to have been added for the new occasion to which this shorter psalm was adapted.
ftd76 The original word for gods is µyhla, elohim. Dr Adam Clarke, who doubts whether this word is ever by fair construction applied to false gods or idols, reads —
*“Jehovah is great, and greatly to be praised.* *Elohim is to be feared above all.”*
ftd77 “Ou, idoles.” — Fr. marg. “Or, idols.”
ftd78 “Quia Deus per angelos irradiat totum mundum, in illis refulgent Deitatis scintillae.” — Lat. “Pource que Dieu jette comme ses rayons sur tout le monde par les anges, des estincelles de Divinite reluisent en iceux.” — Fr.
ftd79 lyla, elil, signifies a thing of nought; as if from la, not, the l being doubled to denote extreme nothingness. Thus a false vision or prophecy, on which no dependence can be placed, is called lyla, elil, “a thing of nought,” Jeremiah 14:14, and a shepherd that leaves the flock, and instead of visiting, healing and feeding them, devours and tears them in pieces, is called in Zechariah 11:15, 16, “a pastor, lylah, haelil, of no value.” In this sense the word is used of the false gods of the heathen. Instead of being µyhla, elohim, gods, they are µylyla, elilim, mere nothings. Accordingly, Paul, in 1 Corinthians 8:4, speaks of an idol as being “nothing in the world.”
ftd80 “Sed quicquid imaginarium illis affingitur, nihilum esse.” — Lat.
ftd81 “Quia eorum vanitas nihil derogat unis Dei gloriae.” — Ib.
ftd82 “Car tout ainsi qu’ils sont vanite aussi tout ce qui procede d’eux est vain et plein de deception.” — Fr.
ftd83 “The argument of God’s superiority over all other beings, drawn from his creation of the world, is sublimely expressed in the following lines ascribed by Justin Martyr (de Monarchid. page 159, ed. Oxon. 1703) to Pythagoras, —
Εί tiv ἐρεῖ, Θεός eijmi πάρεξ ἑνὸς, ou=tov ὀφείλει Κόσμον ίσον τούτῳ στήσας εἰπεῖν ἐμὸς ou=tov.
*“One God our hearts confess: whoe’er beside* *Aspires with Him our homage to divide,* *A world as beauteous let him first design,* *And say, its fabric finished, ‘This is mine.’”* *— Merrick’s Annotations.*
ftd84 “Car ceux qui separent de luy sa puissance, imaginent plustost une essence morte, qu’une Divinite vive.” — Fr.
ftd85 The original word for strength is z[, oz, which is derived from zz[, azaz, he was strong. “The same word,” says Hammond, “signifies what the Greeks call ἐξουσία, power, dominion, empire. In the notion of strength or valour it may probably be used in verse 6, where as beauty so strength is said to be in his sanctuary; beauty in respect of the glory of the divine presence, by the guard of angels that attend there, and strength in respect of the assistance that is by God provided and furnished there to all that seek it by prayer. But the other notion is fitter for this place, where the word is joined with glory and attributed to God; and so in 1 Peter 5:11, which seems to be taken from hence, it is αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος, ‘to him be glory and dominion;’ and hence God’s title of παντοκράτωρ is best rendered, not ‘almighty,’ or ‘he that hath all strength’ but ‘he that hath the z[ or , κράτος, dominion or empire over all.’”
ftd86 Horsley reads, “Take an offering.” “A mincha,” says he, “an offering of bread and flour, not of flesh.”
ftd87 The words çdqAtrdhb, which Calvin renders, “in the beauty of the sanctuary,” are rendered in our English Bible “in the beauty of holiness.” The Septuagint reads, αὐλῆ aJgia aujtou, “in the court of his holiness;” from which it has been thought probable that the text originally stood w:wqArxjb. See this word at the end of the preceding verse. In Psalm 29:2, the same sentence occurs. The version of Calvin, and that of Jerome, which is precisely the same, in decore sanctuarii, partake both of the Hebrew and Septuagint reading.
ftd88 “Pour monstrer que les Gentils devoyent estre receus a un honneur nouveau, qu’ils feront un mesme corps avec le peuple eleu.” — Fr.
ftd89 “The peoples. The Hebrew word is plural, and it is rendered plurally by all the ancient versions. It is not one people only, but all the nations upon earth, that God will judge.” — Street.
ftd90 The Hebrew verb wnnr, rannenu, here rendered rejoice, “expresses,” says Mant, “the vibratory motion either of a dancer’s feet, or of a singer’s lips. Hence it signifies, to wave to and fro’ as trees.” In support of this sense of the word he refers to Bishop Horsley’s note on Psalm 98:8, and Parkhurst’s Lexicon on ˆnr, 1:2. Accordingly, he translates the verse —
*“Be glad, ye fields, and fruits, the fields that spread;*
*Wave high, ye woods, in worship wave the head;”*
which, he observes, will remind the reader of Adam and Eve’s morning
hymn: —
*“ — and wave your tops, ye pines,* *With every plant, in sign of worship wave.”* Paradise Lost, v.
ftd91 This psalm has been admired for its grandeur and magnificence. The three last verses in particular have been frequently quoted as a specimen of sublimity in sentiment and language, which cannot be surpassed. “Nothing can excel in this respect,” remarks Bishop Lowth, “that noble exultation of universal nature in the 96th Psalm, which has been so often commended, where the whole animate and inanimate creation unite in the praises of their Maker. Poetry here seems to assume the highest tone of triumph and exultation, and to revel, if I may so express myself, in all the extravagance of joy.” — Lectures on Sacred Poetry, volume 1, page 378.
ftd92 “Semper tamen fluctuari necesse est, et vitam eoram pendere de filo, quia in Deo fundatus non est eorum status.” — Lat.
ftd93 “Neque enim metonymice de angelis vel hominibus loquitur.” — Lat.
“Il ne faut pas penser que ce soit yci la figure nommee Metonymie, et que par les Cieux il entende les Anges, par la Terre les hommes.” — Fr.
ftd94 “C’est une chose accidentale.” — Fr.
ftd95 “Ou, que beaucoup d’isles.” — Fr. marg. “Or, let the many isles.”
Horsley and some other critics object to translating the original word, µyya, iyim, by isles. He reads, “Let the various settlements of man rejoice:” on which he observes, “I cannot more exactly render the force of the Hebrew µyya, than by this periphrasis. The English language hath no single word to convey the same idea; and the word ‘isles’ or ‘islands,’ hath hardly any relation to it.” Fry’s note here is as follows: — “The Hebrew terms rendered, ‘the multitude of the isles,’ ‘the various settlements of men,’ ‘the extended shores,’ seem in a special manner to designate these western parts of the world, which were known as distant coasts visited by the ships of Tyre. All Europe might originally fall under this denomination, with some parts of the sea coasts of Africa, and even of Asia; nor can there be any doubt, that all subsequent discoveries by sea, once uninhabited, but now colonized, and settled from the old countries, would be designated by this term. Some nations of this description are called upon, in particular, to rejoice in the Savior’s appearing.”
ftd96 The word ˆwkm, mechon, here rendered “habitation,” is from ˆwk, kun, he prepared, fitted, confirmed. “It is used,” says Hammond, “for a place, seat, but especially a basis, whereon anything is set: from whence the LXX. had their μεχωςὼθ, (the very Hebrew twnwkm) for basis, 1 Kings 7:27. The Chaldee here retains the original ˆwkm, but the LXX., from the notion of the verb for fitting, read κατόρθωσις, ‘the setting right of his throne;’ the Syriac, by way of paraphrase, ‘by equity and judgment thy throne is confirmed:’ all which concur to the notion of basis or foundation, which is the thing that gives the rectitude first, and then the stability, to the chair or throne that is set on it. And so that is unquestionably the right, intelligible rendering of the phrase, ‘Righteousness and judgment are the (not habitation but) basis of his throne,’ i.e., his sentences, decrees, judicatures, are all built upon righteousness and judgment, as a throne is built and established on a foundation.”
ftd97 “Que le Prophete a voulu par ce regard obscur de Dieu, toucher au vif les coeurs des hommes, afin qu’ils tremblent.” — Fr.
ftd98 “Ou, idoles.” Fr. marg. “Or, idols.” The original word here is µylyla
elilim. See note 2, page 50.
ftd99 “Judah’s daughters, the inferior towns and villages of Judea, so called with reference to the metropolis, or mother city. This is a very elegant kind of personification, by which the subject, adjunct, accident, effect, or the like, of any thing or place is called the son, or, as in this instance, the daughter of that thing or place. Hence the Hebrew poets
often introduce, as it were, on the stage, nations, countries, or kingdoms, clothed in the dress of women, and performing all the functions suited to such a character. The practice is familiar to our minds; but probably it is so rendered by our habitual acquaintance with the Hebrew idiom, to which it appears to owe its origin.” — Mant on Psalms 48:11.
ftd100 “Les hommes ont naturellement quelque religion,” etc. — Fr.
ftd101 “Lucianici homines.” — Lat. “Disciples de Lucian et Atheistes.” — Fr.
ftd102 With the exception of the Chaldee, which, instead of “gods,” has “people,” all the ancient versions translate angels — all his angels, as if the Hebrew reading had originally been wykalm lk, and not as in our present copies µyhla lk. It has indeed been questioned whether µyhla, elohim, can be correctly translated angels. The most of modern lexicographers and critics reject this sense of the word. “But usage, after all,” says Moses Stuart, “pleads in favor of it. The Septuagint render la (God) by άγγελος, in Job 20:15; and µyhla by άγγελοι, in Psalm 8:6; 96:7; 137:1. Paul follows them by quoting Psalm 8:6 in Hebrews 2:7; and also by quoting Psalm 97:7 in Hebrews 1:6; i.e., supposing that he does actually quote it. Is not this sufficient evidence that there was a usus loquendi among the Jews, which applied the word µyhla occasionally to designate angels? It is admitted that kings and magistrates are called elohim, because of their rank or dignity. Is there any thing improbable in the supposition that angels may be also called µyhla, who at present are elevated above men, Hebrews 2:7?”
Stuart, in the above remarks, speaks as if it were doubtful whether Paul in Hebrews 1:6, “And again, when he bringeth the first-begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him,” quotes from the 7th verse of the 97th Psalm. Commentators are divided in opinion on this point, some maintaining that the quotation is from Psalm 97, and others that it is from Deuteronomy 32:43, in the Septuagint version, where the very words are found which appear in Hebrews 1:6, although only in that version; the Hebrew and all the ancient versions being without them. One difficulty attending the supposition of his quoting from Deuteronomy 32:43 is, that the subject connected with this command to the angels (if we admit the clause in the Septuagint to be a part of the sacred text) has no relation to the Messiah. The context celebrates the victory over the enemies of Israel, which God will achieve. After saying that ‘his arms should be drunk with blood, and that his sword should devour flesh with the blood of the slain and of captives, from the time when he begins to take vengeance on the enemy,’ the Septuagint (not the Hebrew) immediately inserts, εὐφράνθητε οὐρανοὶ a[ma αὐτῷ καὶ προκυνησάτωσαν αὐτῷ πάντες άγγελοι θεοῦ. This in the place where it stands must mean, “Let the inhabitants of the heavenly world rejoice in the victory of God over the enemies of his people, and let them pay their adoration to him.” But the Messiah does not seem to be at all alluded to any where in the context, much less described as being introduced into the world. It is not therefore very likely that this is the passage quoted, unless we suppose that Paul borrowed the words merely as fitted to express the idea which he intended to convey, without any reference to their original meaning. The probability is in favor of a quotation from the text before us; which in the Septuagint runs thus: προσκυνήσατε αὐτῷ πάντες άγγελοι αὐτοῦ. Paul’s words are, kai προσκυνησάτώσαν αὐτῳ pantev άγγελοι Θεοῦ. Here the variation from the Septuagint is so very inconsiderable, making no change upon the sense of the passage, that the discrepancy, especially when it is considered that very few of the quotations from the Old Testament in the New agree verbatim either with the Hebrew or Septuagint, is no argument against the supposition of the Apostle’s quoting this text from that version which was in general use among the Jews. And this psalm admits of an easy application to the coming and kingdom of the Messiah, whose advent was to destroy idolatry, and be the source of rejoicing and happiness to all the righteous, which the passage in Deuteronomy referred to does not. — See Stuart’s Commentary on Hebrews 1:6, and Excursus 6.
ftd103 “De nous tenir en bride, de peur qu’il ne nous soit fascheux ou grief de nous abstenir de malice,” etc. — Fr.
ftd104 “Quamvis non statim suos liberet Deus, arcana tamen virtute tucri
eorum salutem.” — Lat.
ftd105 Walford objects to the version light is sown, on the ground that it presents an incongruous combination of figures; and he translates, “light is diffused.” “Who can say,” he remarks, “what is meant by the sowing of light? The diffusion or expansion of light is intelligible, and means that though good men may be in darkness or adversity, light and prosperity will burst through the cloud.” The Septuagint, Vulgate, Arabic, and Æthiopic versions translate, “light is risen for the righteous,” probably reading jrz, zarach, which De Rossi found in one manuscript, instead of [rz, zara. Houbigant and others adopt this reading, conceiving it to be more agreeable to the common idea of light. But Muis vindicates the text from <19C605>Psalm 126:5; and Archbishop Secker thinks “sown” a very proper expression. In support of the same rendering, Merrick, in his Annotations, quotes several passages from the classic Greek authors, in which both light and gladness are said to be sown.
ftd106 The last clause is “literally, have wrought deliverance for him, i.e., not deliverance of him, as if God had been himself in danger or distress; but that is done for any one, which is done agreeably to his wishes and intentions, and at his instigation. The original, therefore, expresses, that the deliverance wrought was originally designed and decreed by God, and that his immediate power effected the thing intended without any other aid.” — Horsley. Street translates, “hath wrought salvation for us.” He thinks that instead of wl, for him, we should read wnl, for us.
ftd107 The last part of this verse is in the same words with Isaiah
52:10.
ftd108 “Car apres avoir parle des miracles, il les restreint specialement a une
somme, ascavoir, que Dieu s’est acquis salut par sa propre vertu.” — Fr.
ftd109 “Afin qu’ils fussent comme les aisnez.” — Fr.
ftd110 “Qu’il n’a point este induit par autre raison, sinon afin que fidelement il accomplist ce qu’il avoit promis.” — Fr.
ftd111 Horsley reads —
*“Chant unto Jehovah to the harp,* *To the harp, and the sound of the zimrah.”*
“hrmz here,” he remarks, “as in Psalm 81:2, is certainly the name of some musical instrument. But what the particular instrument might be, which went by that name, is quite uncertain. I therefore retain the Hebrew word.”
ftd112 Street is of opinion that the nominative cases of the concluding part of this verse do not belong to the verb of the preceding clause, but to the verb in the subsequent verse. “Roar let the globe,” says he, “‘and those that inhabit it,’ is not so proper an expression as ‘Let the globe and those that inhabit it clap the hand.’”
ftd113 “Let the floods clap their hands,” is a most beautiful prosopopoeia, a figure for which the Hebrew poets are remarkable, and which they manage with equal elegance and boldness. Horsley renders, “Let the floods sound applause;” observing, that it is literally “clap their hands.” “The verb ˆnr,” he adds, “expresses the vibratory motion, either of a dancer’s feet, or of a singer’s lip. Therefore, when applied figuratively to an inanimate thing that can neither dance nor sing, it is better to render its general sense than to confine it to either particular image. Our language has no word, which, like the Hebrew, may express dancing or singing indiscriminately.” The propriety of deviating from the literal rendering may, however, be questioned. This ode is highly animated; it is a burst of joy in God raised to the highest pitch; and it is the property of this emotion, when felt in a high degree, to express itself in the most daring and unusual figures. It may be added, that the whole of the seventh and eighth verses furnish a beautiful specimen of personification. With a sublimity of sentiment and an energy of language which cannot be surpassed, all nature, animate and inanimate, is summoned to unite in the song of joy, and to contend with eager rivalry in celebrating the praises of its Creator.
ftd114 “The king’s strength seems here put for the king himself.” —
Merrick. Street removes the original word for strength to the end of the preceding verse, reading holy and mighty; and renders the first part of this verse thus: “Thou art a king that lovest judgment;” observing, that, in the Hebrew it is ˚lm, melech, not ˚lmh, hamelech, that the word bha, aheb, that lovest, is a participle here, and that the pronoun hta, atah, thou, belongs to the first clause. “According to the translation of the English Bible,” says he, “there is a great want of connection. ‘The king’s strength also loveth judgment: thou dost establish equity,’ etc. There had been no king spoken of before except Jehovah, and the Psalmist is here addressing him in the second person, not speaking of him in the third.”
ftd115 zgr, ragaz, “denoting commotion either of the body or mind, imports
in the latter acceptation particularly two things, fear and anger, those two principal emotions of the mind. In the sense of anger we have it in Genesis 45:24, where we render it falling out or quarrelling, and in 2 Kings 19:27, 28, where we render it rage. So, Proverbs 29:9, and in Genesis 41:10, the Hebrew ãxq, (affirmed of Pharaoh, viz., that) he was wroth, is by the Chaldee rendered zgr. And this is much the more frequent acceptation of the word in the Old Testament.” — Hammond’s note on Psalm 4:4. On the text before us, after observing that Abu Walid explains this root as signifying in the Arabic trembling and commotion, arising sometimes from anger, sometimes from fear, and other causes, the same critic says, “Here the context may seem to direct the taking it in the notion of commotion simply, as that signifies ἀκαταστασία, sedition or tumult of rebels or other adversaries. And then the sense will be thus: ‘The Lord reigneth, let the people be moved,’ i.e., Now God hath set up David in his throne, and peaceably settled the kingdom in him, in spite of all the commotions of the people. The LXX. render it to this sense, as Psalm 4:4, ὀργιζέσθωσαν, ‘let the people be angry or regret it as much as they will.’” The verb here, and the concluding verb of the verse, may be read in the future tense: “The people or nations shall tremble, and the earth shall be moved,” just as at the giving of the Law, “the people trembled,” and “the earth shook.” Thus the passage may be regarded as a prediction of the subjection of the heathen world to the dominion of Christ.
ftd116 “A ceste condition.” — Fr. “Upon condition.”
ftd117 The marginal translation in our English Bible is, it is holy, connecting holy with Jehovah’s footstool, mentioned in the preceding clause. This construction appears to be very appropriate. The third, the fifth, and in effect the ninth verses, end with this expression, which seems to be a kind of chorus, and thus divides the psalm into three parts. The first part terminates with ascribing holiness to the name of Jehovah; the second with attributing the same property to his abode; and at the conclusion, holiness, essential, infinite, and immutable holiness, is ascribed to Jehovah himself.
ftd118 That God spoke to Moses and Aaron out of the cloudy pillar, there is no doubt. In Exodus 16:10, 11, we read, “And it came to pass as Aaron spoke unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,” etc.
And when God said to Moses, Exodus 17:6, “Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb,” The meaning undoubtedly is, that the cloudy pillar, from which he was to speak, would stand upon Horeb. See also Exodus 19:9, 18, 19. To this intercourse Aaron as well as Moses was admitted, as we learn from the 24th verse of that chapter, and from Exodus 20:21, 22. The only difficulty here is, how God can be said to have spoken to Samuel out of the cloudy pillar, of which we have no particular account in his history. To this it may be answered, that when God called upon Samuel four times successively, at the fourth time he “came and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel,” (verse 10,) which seems parallel to those words of God to Moses, Exodus 17:6, “I will stand before thee upon the rock,” and may, therefore, be presumed to mean that the cloud, the usual emblem of the Divine presence under the former dispensation, came and stood before Samuel, and that God spake from it, though it is evident that at the three preceding calls it did not appear. Again, when Samuel’s offerings and prayers were so signally heard at Mizpeh, 1 Samuel 7, it is said, verse 9, “The Lord answered him,” and verse 10, “The Lord thundered with a great thunder;” and as where thunder is, a cloud is supposed to exist, this answering of Samuel with thunder may not unreasonably be supposed to denote God’s speaking to him at this time also out of the cloud.
ftd119 “Comme aussi il est esleve par dessus tout le monde.” — Fr.
ftd120 “La cause qu’il rend.” — Fr. “Causae redditio.” — Lat.
ftd121 “Ceux qui sont les principaux et les plus excellens personnages.” — Fr.
ftd122 Accordingly, some instead of priests read princes, or chief men. ˆhk,
ˆjk, to minister, is a common title of civil as well as ecclesiastical officers. Hence, in Exodus 2:16, for the Hebrew term ˆhk, the Chaldee has abr, “the Prince of Midian.” And in 2 Samuel 8:18, it is said of David’s sons, that they were µynhk, which does not there mean priests, but princes or chief rulers; — ˆybrbr, great men, as the Chaldee has it, or µynwçarh, “principal or chief men about the king,” as they are termed in 1 Chronicles 18:17. Of this sort was Ira the Jairite, who, in 2 Samuel 20:26, is called ˆhk, which does not there denote priest, but a chief ruler about David. Thus, as in the more general sense of the word, it comprehends civil as well as ecclesiastical rulers, it is evident that Moses, no less than Aaron, may be reckoned wynhkb, among God’s rulers or chief men; and, as Calvin states, it is to be noticed that Moses was, properly speaking, the Priest of the Israelites before the appointment of Aaron and his family to the sacerdotal office.
ftd123 Hammond translates, “O God, thou was propitiated for their sakes.” He observes, that µhl, lahem, which Calvin renders to them, is not to be understood barely in the sense of the dative case, “thou wast propitiated to them,” or “forgavest them;” but means for them, that is, for their sakes: God sparing the people, for or on account of the prayers of Moses, Aaron, and Samuel. God did not destroy them when these holy and devoted men pleaded with him in their behalf; he spared them, and drew back the hand of vengeance in answer to prayer. Such was the effect of Moses’ intercessions. When the people caused Aaron to make the golden calf and worshipped it, God’s anger was kindled against them. And he said to Moses, “Now therefore, let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot, and that I may consume them, and I will make of thee a great nation.” Had Moses let God alone, the whole of that race would have been utterly consumed. But he pleaded with God in their behalf, and “the Lord repented him of the evil which he thought to do unto the people,” Exodus 22:10-15. Nor was Aaron less prevalent in turning away the anger of God from the rebellious Israelites, as is evident from Numbers 16:43-45. When, on the occasion of the rebellion and murmuring of the people at Moses and Aaron on account of what befell Korah and his company, God said to Moses, “Get thee up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment;” Moses and Aaron “fell upon their faces,” and prayed. Then it follows, verse 46, “And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar; and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them; for there is wrath gone out from the Lord; the plague is begun. And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.” Equally successful were the intercessions of Samuel. When the Israelites were sore pressed by the Philistines, and afraid of them, they “said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.” Samuel did as they desired, and God was propitiated by his prayers: “Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt-offering wholly unto the Lord; and Samuel cried unto the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him.” — 1 Samuel 7:7, 8, 9.
ftd124 The Hebrew text has a keri, which is wnjna wlw, “and we are his,”
instead of wnjna alw “and not ourselves.” The Septuagint supports
the latter reading, the ketib, καὶ oujc ἡμεῖς, “and not we ourselves;” in which it is followed by the Syriac and Vulgate versions. Jerome agrees with the keri, Ipse fecit nos, et ipsius sumus; and so does the Chaldee. “I am persuaded,” says Lowth, in Merrick’s Annotations, “that the Masoretical correction, wlw, (and we are his,) is right: the construction and parallelism both favour it.”
ftd125 “Donnez-luy gloire.” — Fr.
ftd126 “Sinon qu’il mesle des maniers de parler, qui se rapportent au service
de Dieu qui estoit sous la Loy.” — Fr.
ftd127 “Ou, quand viendras-tu a moy?” — Fr. marg. “Or, when wilt thou
come to me?”
ftd128 “Toute oeuvre.” — Fr. “All the work.”
ftd129 “Ou, le mauvais.” — Fr. marg. “Or, the evil man.”
ftd130 The reading of the Chaldee is striking, “He who speaks with a triple tongue,” “i.e.,” says Bythner, “an informer, calumniator, detractor, who injures three souls, his own, his hearers, and the calumniated; he inflicts a deep wound on his own conscience, puts a lie into the mouth of his hearer, and injures the subject of his slander; according to which, Herodotus has said, Διαβολή ejsti δεινότατον ἐν τῃ δύο μέν eijsin οἱ ἀδικέοντες ei=v de ὁ ἀδικεόμενος. ‘Calumny is most iniquitous, in which there are two injuring and one injured.’” The word ynçwlm, meloshni rendered slandereth, is from the noun ˆwçl, lashon, the tongue. In <19E012>Psalm 140:12, it is said, “Let not ˆwçl çya, ish lashon, a man of tongue, (i.e., a slanderer,) be established in the earth.”
ftd131 The Hebrew noun bjr, rechab, for wide or large, is derived from bjr, rachab, dilatus est. “Applied to the heart or soul, it denotes largeness of desires. — So Proverbs 28:25, ‘He that is çpn bjr, large in soul;’ where the LXX. fitly render bjr, by άπληστος, ‘insatiable,’ applying it either to wealth or honor, the insatiable desire of either of which (as there follows) ‘stirs up strife.’ And so here they have rendered it again άπλήστῳ καρδίᾳ, ‘he that cannot be filled in the heart,’ i.e., the covetous or ambitious man. The Syriac reads, wide or broad; so the Jewish Arab, ‘Him that is high of eyes, and wide of heart, I can have no patience with those two.’” — Hammond.
ftd132 “Hebrews aux matins.” “Hebrews at the mornings.” — Fr. marg.
Courts of judicature for the execution of public justice were wont to be held in the morning in ancient times, as they are still with us, or at least began then, and continued till the evening. Hugo Grotius and others think there is here an allusion to these courts. “To this,” says Hammond, “most probably µyrqbl in the plural, in the mornings, here refers, the season wherein David, as a judge entering the tribunal, destroys and cuts off the wicked doers. The former part of the psalm contains his resolution for choice of counsellors and officers of state, preferring the plain, honest, and not the subtlest contrivers; and this last for the execution of justice, discountenancing and judicially cutting off all wicked men.”
ftd133 “This plaintive poem was written by some pious exile towards the expiration of the seventy years of captivity during which the people of Israel were detained in Babylon. . . . . The author of the psalm had most probably been carried away captive in early youth. He had survived nearly to the end of the term, and now, worn with cares and anxieties, he was earnest with God that deliverance might speedily arrive, lest he should sink into the grave without revisiting the delightful scenes by which his imagination was enraptured, without witnessing the fulfillment of the hopes which the prophets of God had excited by the predictions which they had delivered relative to the returning prosperity of his beloved country.” — Walford. Hammond thinks that the psalm was written by Nehemiah, after the return of Ezra with commission for rebuilding the temple. See Nehemiah 1:3, etc. Others ascribe it to Jeremiah or Daniel.
ftd134 “Sa plainte.” — Fr. “His complaint.”
ftd135 Hammond reads, “My days are consumed in the smoke.” “The Syriac,” says he, “read, in smoke, and so the sense will best bear, either my days or time of my life, wlk, consume and wither in smoke, as <19B983>Psalm 119:83, a bottle in the smoke, afflictions have had the same effect on me as smoke on those things which are hung in it, dried me up, and deformed me: or perhaps wlk, end or fail, or consume in smoke, (as when any combustible matter is consumed, smoke is all that comes from it, and so it ends in that;) and to that the latter part of the verse may seem to incline it, ‘And my bones, or members, or body, are burnt up,’ that being all one with consumed.”
ftd136 Hammond reads, “are burnt up as dry wood.” “As for dqwmk, that is added,” says he, “the interpreters differ in the understanding of it. The word coming from dqy, accensus est, may be either the place where the fire is, or the pot which is heated by the flame of the fire, or the wood which is set on fire. The Syriac seems to take it in the first notion, rendering it, ‘my bones are grown white as the hearth,’ for so the chimney or hearth doth with the fire constantly burning on it. The Chaldee reads, ‘as one of the stones that is set under the pot or caldron.’ But the LXX. read, ὡσεί φρύχιον, ‘as dry wood,’ and the Latin, sicut cremium, ‘as dry combustible wood,’ and that is most applicable to the matter in hand; the bones or members of the body, their being burnt up as dry wood denotes the speedy exhausting of the radical moisture, which soon ends in the consumption of the whole. And then the whole verse fitly accords, ‘My days are withered away in the smoke,’ or perhaps ‘end in smoke, my bones are burnt up like dry wood.’”
ftd137 “Tienent a ma peau.” — Fr. “Cleave to my skin.” Flesh is more literal; but see <19B9120>Psalm 119:120, and Job 19:20.
ftd138 The pelican is a bird of the desert, to which frequent allusion is made by the sacred writers. Its Hebrew name taq, kaath, literally means, the vomiter, being derived from the verb awq, ko, to vomit. It has a large pouch, or bag, suspended from its bill and throat, which serves both as a repository for its food, and as a net for catching it. In feeding its young ones, whether this bag is loaded with water, or more solid food, it squeezes the contents of it into their mouths, by strongly compressing it upon its breast with its bill, an action which might well explain the origin of the name given to it by the Hebrews. It is a bird of solitary habits, and is said by Isidore to live “in the solitude of the river Nile:” indeed, it generally builds its nest in mossy, turfy places, in the islands of rivers or lakes, far from the abode of man. It is here described as living in the wilderness, a circumstance not inconsistent with its natural fondness for water; for lakes, as well as fountains, are to be found in the most desert parts. And although a water-fowl, it sometimes retires to a great distance from the water, where, in some remote and concealed situation, it may hatch its young with greater security. Its huge pouch, which is said to be capable of containing near the size of a man’s head, seems to be given to it for the purpose of its being provided with a supply of food for itself and its young ones when at a distance from the water. Bochart thinks that taq, kaath, here means the bittern. His chief reason for this opinion is, that the Psalmist compares himself to the two birds specified, on account of his groaning, and that, therefore, both of them should have a mournful cry. But he finds that natural historians make no mention of this as a property of the pelican, whereas they all agree that the bittern, by inserting its bill in the mud of the marsh, or plunging it under water, utters a most disagreeable cry, like the roaring of a bull, or the sound of distant thunder. But the Psalmist may not so much compare his groaning to the plaintive cry of these birds, as compare his situation to their solitary condition. Sorrow, when pungent, drives the sufferer to solitude, and, on this occasion, the inspired bard, under the overwhelming pressure of grief, seems to have become weary of society, and, like the pelican, or the owl, to have contracted a relish for deep retirement. Shaw’s Travels, volume 2, page 302; Paxton’s Illustrations of Scripture, volume 2, pages 247-250.
ftd139 The owl, it is highly probable, is the bird here intended. The original word swk, kos, which is evidently derived from the verb hsk, kasah, to hide, is applied, with much propriety, to denote that bird, which constantly hides itself in the day-time, and comes abroad only in the evening, or at night. swk, kos, is followed in construction by twbrj, charaboth, which comes from brj, charab, to be destroyed, or laid waste; (Isaiah 60:12; Jeremiah 26:8; Zephaniah 3:6) and signifies a waste or desolate place, as the ruins of an uninhabited house. The proper translation, then, should be, not the owl of the desert, but the owl of the desolate or ruined buildings, which exactly corresponds with the habits of this bird; for such ruinous places, as is well known, are its ordinary haunt, where, in undisturbed solitude, it may utter its melancholy howlings. The allusion in Gray’s celebrated Elegy may illustrate the language of the text, —
*“Save that from yonder ivy mantled tower,* *The moping owl does to the night complain,” etc.*
The habit of the owl in shunning the light of day, and delighting in solitude, well describes the sensitiveness with which the Psalmist, through the greatness of his grief, shrunk from society, and courted seclusion. Bochart contends that swk here signifies, not the owl, but the ostrich, and, if the Psalmist is comparing himself to the two birds specified, on account of his groaning, this seems to favor that translation; for the female ostrich has a most dismal and mournful voice, very much resembling the lamentation of a human being in deep distress. But, as has been before observed, the Psalmist seems to refer, not so much to the mournful voice of these birds, as to their solitary condition.
ftd140 There is here a reference to the flat roof of the eastern houses, a usual place of retirement, in ancient times, and even at this day, to the inhabitants of these countries.
ftd141 “La translation Grecque ha Nicticorax qui est Chauvesouris.” — Fr.
ftd142 Although Calvin expresses himself as having no doubt that the sparrow is here intended, the most eminent expositors are of a different opinion, contending that it is difficult to reconcile with the nature of the sparrow the ideas of wakefulness and solitude which the Psalmist represents as characteristic of the bird to which he compares himself. The sparrow is not a solitary moping bird which sits mournfully on the housetop, nor so timid as to betake itself to the darkest corners for concealment, and to spend the live long night in sleepless anxiety. It is gregarious, is commonly found chirping and fluttering about in the crowd, a pert, loquacious, and bustling creature, and builds its nest in the habitations of men. Every part of the description leads to the supposition that some nocturnal bird is to be understood, which from instinct hates the light, and comes forth from its hiding-place only when the shadows of the evening fall to hunt its prey, and from amidst the fragments, of some mouldering ruin to attract the attention of mankind by its mournful voice. Accordingly, it has been thought that the Psalmist refers to some species of the owl, distinguished for its plaintive cry and solitary disposition. — Paxton’s Illustrations of Scripture, volume 2, pages 355-357. “But,” says Merrick, “as chos, mentioned in the preceding verse, seems also to signify an owl, we are perhaps to suppose two sorts of owls intended, one of which confines itself to deserts or ruinous places, and the other sometimes approaches cities or villages, and according to Virgil’s description, (which Bochart quotes as conformable to that of the Psalmist,) sits alone on the house-top. ‘Solaque culminibus ferali carmine bubo Visa queri, et longas in fletum ducere voces.’ Æneid, lib. 4. 50. 462.
I doubt whether the Psalmist would in two verses together compare his situation to that of the very same bird, with no other difference than that of its sitting in the desert in one verse, and on the house-top in the other.” Bochart thinks that the screech-owl is intended. The reason which Calvin assigns for the sparrow being called solitary, namely, because of the extreme sorrow which she feels when deprived of her mate, does not agree with the natural history of that bird; for, unlike the turtle, who, on losing her spouse, remains in a state of inconsolable widowhood, she accepts without reluctance the first companion that solicits her affections.
ftd143 Horsley renders the concluding sentence, —
*“And the profligate make me their standard of execration.”*
“Houbigant,” says he, “rightly observes, that the verb [bçn, governing its objects by the prefix b, signifies to swear by, not to swear against. For w[bçn, therefore, he would substitute another word; which, however, bears not the sense he would impose upon it. Archbishop Secker attempts to explain the text as it stands, but, in my judgment, unsuccessfully, unless [bçn may signify to execrate one’s self or another. I find no example of this use of the verb. But the [υσέ of the noun in Numbers 5:21, and Isaiah 65:15, may seem, in some degree, to countenance the Archbishop’s interpretation. The other passages to which he refers are little to the purpose.”
Rosenmüller gives a similar interpretation. “They swear by me; they derive their arguments and examples from my calamities; when they mean to imprecate evil on themselves as the persons swearing, or on another as the object of their malediction, they use my name as a form of execration, as if they said, ‘Let our fate be that of these miserable Jews, if we speak what is false.’ — See Isaiah 65:15; Jeremiah 29:22.”
ftd144 Supposing the reading to be µjlb, balechem, instead of µjlk, calechem; and from the similarity in form between the letters b and k, transcribers might readily have mistaken the latter for the former.
ftd145 “What is meant by yntaçn, ‘thou hast lifted me up,’ etc., is to be judged by the immediate antecedents, indignation and wrath; by these is meant vehement displeasure and anger, and in God, in whom anger is not found, effects that bear analogy with those which proceed from angry men. To such it is ordinary to cast to the ground any thing that they are displeased with, and where the displeasure is vehement, to lift it up first as high as they can, that they may cast it down with more violence, and dash it in pieces by the fall. And this is the meaning of the phrase here, and so is a pathetical expression of his present affliction, heightened by the dignity of the public office wherein Nehemiah was at the time of writing this mournful psalm, (Nehemiah 1:1 and 2:1.) The greater his place was at Shushan, the deeper his sorrow for his countrymen and for Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:3) pierced him, whereupon he complains that God, by way of indignation, hath dealt with him, as those that take an earthen vessel and throw it against the pavement, and that they may beat it to pieces the more certainly, lift it up first as high as they can, to throw it down with more violence. This the LXX. have fitly rendered, ἐπάρας κατέρραξάς me, and the Latin, elevans illisisti me, ‘having lifted me up, thou hast dashed me to pieces.’” — Hammond.
ftd146 It is literally, “My days are like a shadow, stretched out.” As the sun descends in the firmament, the shadow of any terrestrial object gradually lengthens, and grows fainter as it becomes longer, until shooting out to an unmeasurable length, it disappears. The Psalmist complains that his days were like a shadow nearly stretched to its utmost length, and at the point of being lost in total darkness. He felt
that he had far passed his meridian, that the sun of life was about to set, and the dark night of death to fall down upon him” — See <19A923>Psalm 109:23.
ftd147 “Mais qui plus est ceste compassion que les fideles ont tenu lors.” — Fr.
ftd148 “Craindront ton nom, Seigneur.” — Fr. “Shall fear thy name, O Lord!”
ftd149 The original word for the solitary is r[rh, ha-arar; and as r[r[ signifies the tamarisk or myrtle, some translate, “the afflicted or dejected man;” the myrtle being an emblem of a low and depressed state of the Church. Accordingly, in the Chaldee, it is “the prayer of the desolate,” and in the Septuagint, “the prayer of the humble.” Houbigant derives the word from [[r, frangere, to break, and renders it, “the afflicted.” Others read, “the destitute,” supposing the word to come from hr[, was naked, as Fry: “‘When he hath turned himself to the prayer of the destitute’ — the people emptied, and poured forth — made bare or stripped naked.” Others prefer the version, “He regarded him when exciting his prayer,” as if the root of the Hebrew term were rw[, to excite.
ftd150 Horsley translates the verbs in the 16th and 17th verses in the present, —
*“Truly Jehovah is building Zion;* *He appeareth in his glory.* *He regardeth the prayer of the destitute,* *And their prayer he despiseth not.”*
He regards the Psalm as a “prayer and lamentation of a believer, in the time of the last Antichristian persecution;” and after observing that the 16th and 17th verses are rendered by our English Bible in the future, he says, “These futures, in the original, are all present; ‘buildeth — appeareth — regardeth — and despiseth not.’ The Psalmist in his confidence of the event speaks of it as doing.”
ftd151 “Le Seigneur.” — Fr. “The Lord.” In the Hebrew it is hy, Jah.
ftd152 “Du haut lieu de son sanctuaire.” — Fr. “From the high place of his sanctuary.”
ftd153 “C’est, ceux qui estoyent jugez a mort.” — Note, Fr. marg. “That is, those who were appointed to death, or destined to be put to death.” “Sons of death” is a Hebraism. “According to the Hebrew idiom, the thing which is the effect, the object, the production of another thing, or in almost any way can be said to belong to it, is called ‘the son’ of that other. The expression is so thoroughly naturalised with us, that we are hardly aware of its origin, which appears to be in the Hebrew writers.” — Mant.
ftd154 “Qui estoit brusle et du tout ruine.” — Fr.
ftd155 “Car.” — Fr. This supplement is not in the Latin version.
ftd156 The original word for the same is awh, hua, literally He, — “But thou art HE;” that is, the ETERNAL; necessarily eternal; and, consequently, unchangeable and imperishable. “The Hebrew word appears to be one of the divine names, as if it were said, ‘He who hath permanent existence, who exists eminently.’ Lowth observes, that it is often equivalent to the true and eternal God; and that the phrase in this place expresses God’s eternal and unchangeable nature.” — Mant.
ftd157 This and the two preceding verses are applied by the Apostle Paul to Christ in Hebrews 1:10, 11, 12, in proof of his superiority to angels. In this passage then, Christ, it would appear, is the person addressed; for if the apostle’s inspiration is admitted, the correctness of his interpretation of the Old Testament Scriptures cannot be doubted. Inappropriate applications of them, it is evident, would be inconsistent with his having spoken under the infallible guidance of the Spirit of God. And if these verses are applicable to the Savior of men, they contain an irrefragable proof of his essential divinity. He is called Jehovah throughout the psalm, a name peculiar to God only; the creation of all things is said to be performed by him, a work peculiar to God only; eternity and immutability are ascribed to him, attributes which in the strict and absolute sense belong exclusively to God.
ftd158 Way or journey is a term often used in Scripture to denote the course of a man’s life; and here the Psalmist speaks, as other sacred writers not unfrequently do, of the whole Jewish nation as if it were one man, and of its continuance, which was to be until the coming of Christ, as if the life of one man. It was now, so to speak, only in its meridian. An attention to this remark will assist the reader in understanding Calvin’s exposition of the passage.
ftd159 Consequently, the ruin and desolation to which they seemed given up
by the Babylonish captivity, was like the cutting off or shortening of their days.
ftd160 “Possibly the Psalmist (whom some learned interpreters suppose to be Daniel) may have respect to that prophecy, Daniel 9:24, 25, which probably was published before this time; for this time was almost precisely the midst of the days between the building of the material temple by Solomon, and the building of the spiritual temple, or the Church, by the Messias; there being about a thousand years distance between these two periods, whereof seventy prophetical weeks, or four hundred and ninety years, were yet to come. And so he prays that God would not root them out of this Babylonish captivity, but would graciously restore them to their own land, and preserve them as a Church and nation there, until the coming of the Messias.” — Poole’s Annotations.
ftd161 “The phrase is borrowed from the fact, that hands are the instruments by which men usually perform any operation; and this is, like other human operations and affections, figuratively transferred to God.” — Stuart on Hebrews 1:10.
ftd162 The author of this beautiful and affecting psalm was David; but the time and occasion of its composition are uncertain. Some are of opinion that it is a song of gratitude for David’s recovery from some dangerous sickness. Others think it was written upon his receiving assurance that his great sin in the case of Bathsheba and Uriah was forgiven. “I am not prepared to say,” observes Walford, “that this judgment is certainly correct; but as it is a subject of no great moment, am willing to acquiesce in it. If it be correct, then we have two of the most instructive examples of enlightened and fervent piety, which are contained in the Holy Scriptures, occasioned by one failure in the conduct of a good man, who was habitually remarkable for his stedfast obedience to the laws of God. The one of these examples is in Psalm 51, in which the sacred writer records his deep and humble penitence: and the other, which is now before us, displays the feelings of sacred joy and thankfulness, in terms that are most delightful and consolatory. So admirably adapted are these two psalms to the varied sentiments and emotions of Christian feeling, that I can scarcely suppose any real believer of the gospel is to be found who has not, on multiplied occasions, made them the objects of his attentive meditation, so as to have, if not the express words, yet the sense of them, engraven on his heart and memory, in characters never to be effaced but by death.”
ftd163 “Ou, envirrone.” — Fr. marg. “Or, surroundeth.”
ftd164 Walford’s rendering of this verse is as follows: —
*“Who satisfieth thy advancing age with good;* *Thy youth is renewed as the eagle’s.”*
In defense of reading “thy advancing age” instead of “thy mouth” as it is in our English translation, and as Calvin has it, he observes, “The version here adopted is that of the Chaldee, and is supported by the parallelism in the following clause.”
ftd165 “A grand’ peine osent-ils manger a demi leur saoul.” — Fr.
ftd166 “Abu Walid mentions two interpretations: 1. That of our English translators; 2. That which takes ˚yd[ in the sense of ornament, ‘who multiplieth thy adorning with good,’ i.e., ‘who abundantly adorneth thee with good.’ Aben Ezra approves the notion of ornament, but applies it to the soul, the ornament of the body, i.e., ‘who satisfieth thy soul with good.’” — Hammond. The Septuagint reads, έπιθυμίαν sou, “thy desire,” or “sensitive appetite,” the satisfying of which is the providing for the body all the good things it stands in need of, and thus it is equivalent to “satisfying,” or “filling the mouth,” the organ for conveying nourishment to the body. Kimchi understands the phrase as expressing David’s recovery from sickness. In sickness the soul abhorreth bread, and even dainty meat, Job 33:20. The physician, too, limits the diet of the patient, and prescribes things which are nauseous to the palate. This commentator, therefore, supposes that David here describes the blessing of health, by his mouth being filled with good things.
ftd167 “Afin que leurs plumes soyent bruslees.” — Fr.
ftd168 What Calvin here asserts of the eagle has as little foundation in truth as the Jewish fiction which he justly discards. Augustine’s explanation of the renewal of the youth of the eagle is equally fabulous. He affirms that in its old age its beak grows out so long, and becomes so incurvated, as to hinder it from taking food, thus endangering its life, but that it removes the excrescence, by striking its beak against a stone, so that it is enabled to take its ordinary food, and becomes young again. “There are,” says Dr Adam Clarke, “as many legends of the eagle among the ancient writers as there are in the Kalendar of some saints, and all equally true. Even among modern divines, BibleDictionary men, and such like, the most ridiculous tales concerning this bird continue to be propagated; and no small portion of them have been crowded into comments on this very verse.” Of these “legends of the eagle,” the accounts given of it by the Jewish commentators, by Calvin himself, and by Augustine, are a specimen; for they are altogether unsupported from its natural history. The Psalmist, in speaking of the renewing of its youth, we conceive refers simply to the changing of its feathers. Like all other birds, the eagle has its annual moulting season, in which it casts its old feathers, and is furnished with a new stock. When its plumage is thus renewed, its appearance becomes more youthful and beautiful, while, at the same time, its rigour and liveliness are improved. In like manner, by the communications of Divine grace, the spiritual beauty, strength, and activity of the people of God are increased. Although any other bird would have served the Psalmist’s purpose, yet he may have preferred the eagle, not only because it is the king of birds, superior to others of the feathered tribe in size, strength, and vivacity, but because it retains its vigor to a protracted old age, and preserves its youthful appearance to the last by the frequent change of its plumage. The Prophet Isaiah uses the same allusion, to illustrate the perseverance of the saints in holiness, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles.” Isaiah 40:31
The eagle seems to have borrowed its Hebrew name rçn, nesher, from the shedding of its plumage. Its root is the Chaldee verb rçn, nashar, decidit, defluxit, he fell, he shed. “The name agrees with rwç, to look at,” says Bythner, “because the eagle can look at the sun with a straight and steady gaze; also with rçy, to be straight, because it flies in a straight course.”
ftd169 “Ou, il a magnifie sa bonte.” — Fr. marg. “Or, he hath magnified his goodness.”
ftd170 “Hammond prefers reading above. “Though l[,” says he, “signifies on and towards, as well as above or over, and may be fitly so rendered, verses 13 and 17, where (as here) God’s mercy is said to be l[, upon his children, and l[, upon them that fear him; yet the comparison that is here made between the heaven and the earth, and the height or excellence of the one l[, (not upon but) above the other, being answered, in the ajnta πόδοσις, by the greatness or strength (so rbg signifies) of God’s mercy, wyary l[; that phrase must by analogy be rendered above, not upon, or towards them that fear him. And then the meaning must needs be this, that whatsoever our fear or obedience to God be, his mercy towards us is as far above the size or proportion of that, as the heaven is above the earth, i.e., there is no proportion between them; the one is as a point to that other vast circumference; nay, the difference far greater, as God’s mercy is infinite, like himself, and so infinitely exceeding the pitiful imperfect degree of our obedience. The other expression that follows verse 12, taken from the distance of the East from the West, is pitched upon, says Kimchi, because those two quarters of the world are of greatest extent, being all known and inhabited. From whence it is that geographers reckon that way their longitudes, as from North to South their latitudes.”
ftd171 “I am watching him, as he has watched to do a bad turn to me.”
ftd172 In the French the verb is in the present tense, “So Jehovah is compassionate.”
ftd173 It has been supposed that there is here a reference to that pestilential destructive wind of the East, called the Simoon, which, from its extreme heat, destroys at once every green thing. Disease and death overtake man, and reduce him to his original dust, as surely and speedily as this scorching wind blasts the tender flower.
ftd174 In the French version it is “en obeissant,” “in obeying.” Hammond reads, “at hearing;” and observes,” The sense of [mçl in this place seems best expressed by the Arabic, ,as soon as they hear; for that is the character of the angels’ obedience, that as soon as they hear the voice of God’s word, as soon as his will is revealed to them, they promptly and presently obey it. The Chaldee renders it, ‘at his voice being heard;’ and the LXX. Τοῦ ἀκοῦσαι, ‘as they hear,’ or ‘as soon as they hear.’”
ftd175 “Aux creatures muetes et insensibles.” — Fr.
ftd176 “For regularity of composition, richness of imagery, sublimity of sentiment, and elegance and perspicuity of diction, this hymn is perhaps the principal poem in the whole collection of these inspired songs. As there is no allusion in it to the Mosaic ritual, nor any mention of the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, it should seem that it was of an earlier age than the Exodus. It consists of parts sung alternately by two companies. The parts are easily distinguished, inasmuch as one Semichorus always speaks of God in the third person, the other addresses him in the second.” — Horsley. ftd177 “It is a singular circumstance,” says Horsley, “in the composition of this psalm, that each of the parts of the First Semichorus after the first, [that is, verses 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 13, 14, 19,] begins with a participle. And these participles are accusatives, agreeing with hwhy, the object of the verb ykrb, at the beginning of the whole psalm. Bless Jehovah — putting on — extending — laying — constituting — travelling — making — setting — sending — watering — making — making. Thus, this transitive verb, in the opening of the psalm, extending its government through the successive parts of the same semichorus, except the last, unites them all in one long period. As this singular artifice of composition seems to be the characteristic of a particular species of ode, in this psalm, I have scrupulously conformed to it in my translation, at the expense of the elegance of my English style.”
Calvin, for the most part, translates these words as participles, but in the nominative case.
ftd178 “The original word, which comes from hl[, ascendit, signifies any upper room to which persons ascend. So 2 Samuel 18:32, ‘he went up to r[çh tyl[, the chamber over the gate.’ Accordingly, the LXX. Here render it, ὑπερῶον, ‘an upper room’, and the Latin, ‘superiora ejus’, ‘his upper stories.’ By wytwyl[, therefore, must be meant, though not the supreme, yet the superior or middle region of the air, which is here described as an upper story in a house laid firm with beams, (accounting the earth and the region of air about that as the lower room,) and this floor is here said poetically to be ‘laid in the waters,’ those waters which (Genesis 1) are above the expansion or lower region of the air, which divides the waters from the waters. This is most evident by verse 13, where God is said to ‘water the mountains wytwyl[m, from these his upper rooms, these clouds whence the rain descends.’ In them, saith the Psalmist, ‘the beams of these upper rooms were laid,’ i.e., whereas in the building of an upper story, there must be some walls or pillars to support the weight of it, and in that the beams are laid, God here by his own miraculous immediate power laid, and ever since supported these upper rooms, there being nothing there but waters to support them, and those we know the most fluid tottering body, not able to support itself; and therefore that is another work of his divine power, that the waters which are so fluid, and unable to contain themselves within their own bounds, should yet hang in the middle of the air, and be as walls or pillars to support that region of air, which is itself another fluid body.” — Hammond. Fry, after quoting Dr Geddes’ version, — “Flooring his chambers with waters,” and Bishop Horsley’s “Laying the floors of his chambers upon the waters,” goes on to say: — “After referring, however, to the different places where the word occurs, and considering the structure of ancient buildings, I conceive the allusion to be to the roof, or contignated frame of the house. Genesis 19:8, seems decisive. We seem to lose somewhat of the beauty of the original by translating twyl[ too literally. It signifies certainly, upper rooms, or stories; but the allusion is not to these on account of their situation, but as the part of the house principally inhabited by its owner, the lower parts of eastern houses being used for offices. — See Parkhurst and authors there quoted: compare Psalm 18, ‘He set darkness his veil around him, — his canopy the waters and thick mists of the clouds.’” Fry’s translation is, “And framing his habitation with waters.”
ftd179 See volume 1, page 314.
ftd180 “The waters, by a beautiful prosopopoeia, are supposed to be put into a panic at the voice of Jehovah. See Psalm 77:16” — Dimock. ftd181 Calvin here renders mountains and valleys in the nominative case. In our English version they are rendered in the accusative: “They go up by the mountains, they go down by the valleys.” “It is not here certain,” says Hammond, “whether µyrh, mountains, and tw[qb, valleys or plains, be to be read in the nominative or in the accusative case. If they be in the nominative, then we must read as in a parenthesis, (‘the mountains ascend, the plains or valleys slink down,’) joining the end of the verse, ‘unto the place,’ etc. to ‘haste away,’ verse 7, thus: The waters once stood above the mountains, — those places which now are such; — but at the uttering God’s voice, they fled and hasted away (the mountains ascending and the valleys descending) unto the place which thou hast prepared for them.’ Thus the LXX. and Latin understand it, ἀναβαίνουσιν όρη καταβαίνουσι πεδία, ‘ascendunt montes, et descendunt campi,’ ‘the mountains ascend, and the plains descend,’ referring to the change that was made in the earth from being perfectly round and encompassed with waters, into that inequality wherein now it is, great mountains in some parts, and great cavities in other parts, wherein the waters were disposed, which before covered the face of the earth. But they may be more probably in the accusative case, and then µym, the ‘waters,’ verse 6, which were understood, verse 7, though not mentioned, (for it was the waters that there fled and hasted away,) must be here continued also, viz., that ‘the waters wl[y, ascend,’ or ‘climb the mountains,’ and wdry, ‘descend,’ or ‘fall down upon the valleys,’ or ‘fissures,’ or ‘hollow places,’ ditches, and the like receptacles of waters, (for so [wqb now signifies among the Rabbins.) And this sense the Chaldee follows, ‘They ascend from the abyss to the mountains, and they descend into the valleys, to the place,’ etc. And this is the clearest exposition of it, rendering an account of the course of waters, since the gathering of them together in the ocean, that from thence they are, by the power of God, directed to pass through subterranean meatus to the uppermost parts of the earth, the hills and mountains, where they break forth in springs, and then, by their natural weight, descend, and either find or make channels, by which they run into the ocean again, that µwqm, place, which God hath hewed out as a receptacle for them; and by their thus passing, they are profitable for the use of men, in watering the cattle, and the fruits that grow in the earth, verse 10, etc.”
ftd182 In our English version it is among; but between is the more proper rendering. “ˆyb,” says Hammond, “must be rendered, not among but between, ἀναμέσον, say the LXX., to denote the hollow receptacles for waters betwixt the hills, or risings of the ground on both sides.”
ftd183 The wild ass differs from the tame only by being stronger and nimbler, more courageous and lively. Wild asses are still found in considerable numbers in the deserts of Great Tartary, in Persia, Syria, the islands of the Archipelago, and throughout Mauritania. They are gregarious, and have been known to assemble by hundreds and thousands. It has been observed of these animals that, though dull and stupid, they are remarkable for their instinct in discovering in the arid desert the way to rivers, brooks, or fountains of water, so that the thirsty traveler has only to observe and follow their steps, in order to his being led to the cooling stream.
ftd184 The literal rendering of the Hebrew word wrbçy, yeshberu, is shall break, being derived from rbç, shabar, to break. As applied to hunger, it must signify to allay, or, as here, to thirst, it must mean to quench. The phrase is communicated to other languages, and is usual among us, who, by breaking of fasting, understand eating.
ftd185 “‘From between these boughs or leaves the fowls of the air send out their voice’; not by singing only, (for that is peculiar to few,) but by making any noise that is proper to them.” — Hammond. On the 10th, 11th, and 12th verses, Dimock observes, — “The murmuring brooks, the great number of beasts and cattle, with the melodious birds, afford a most picturesque scene of rural delight.”
ftd186 In the preceding clause God is spoken of in the third person, and here in the second. The change of persons from the second to the third, and from the third to the second, is very observable throughout this psalm. — See page 143, note.
ftd187 In the French version it is, “Et le vin qui resjouit le coeur de l’homme, et l’huile pour faire reluire sa face, et le pain qui soustient le coeur de l’homme.” — “And wine that cheereth the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread that sustains the heart of man.”
ftd188 “In the Septuagint it is, ξύλα tou πεδίου, ‘trees of the field;’ they, therefore, read ydç yx[; and ydç being a name of the Almighty, when differently pointed, thus, ydç, was afterwards changed to hwhy, ‘Jehovah,’ as the text now is. Theodoret notices in his time, that the Hebrew, and other Greek interpreters of it, had ξύλα tou κυρίου, ‘trees of the Lord.’ So was the Hebrew in Jerome’s time, who has it ligna Domini.” — Reeves’ Collation, etc. ftd189 “hdysj, chasidah, the original word for the stork, is from dsj, piety, beneficence, because, says Bythner, “the stork nourishes, supports, and carries on its back, when weary, its aged parents.” Storks are a species of birds very numerous in Palestine, and other eastern countries. Doubdan thus speaks of them in his account of a journey from Cana to Nazareth in Galilee, (page 513,) “All these fields were so filled with flocks of storks, that they appeared quite white with them, there being above a thousand in each flock, and when they rose and hovered in the air they seemed like clouds. The evening they rest in trees.” This account is confirmed by Dr Shaw, who informs us, that as he lay at anchor near Mount Carmel, he saw “three flights of them, some of which were more open and scattered, with larger intervals between them; others were closer and more compact, as in the flight of wrens and other birds, each of which took up more than three hours in passing by us, extending itself at the same time more than half a mile in breadth.” — See his Travels, volume 2, page 269. The stork constructs her nest with exquisite skill of dry twigs of trees and coarse grass from the marsh. But instead of confining herself to one situation, she builds it sometimes on the highest parts of old ruins and houses, — sometimes in the canals of ancient aqueducts, and sometimes on the tops of the eastern mosques and dwelling-houses; so very familiar is she by being never molested, the Mahometans accounting it profane to kill, or even to hurt, or disturb this species of bird, because of their important services in clearing the country of serpents, and other venomous animals, on which they feed. She frequently retires from the noise and bustle of the town to the adjacent field, selecting the highest tree of the forest on which to build her nest, and always preferring the fir, when it is equally suitable to her purpose. — Ibid. volume 2, page 272. Harmer remarks, that hdysj, chasidah, seems to signify the heron as well as the stork; and Dr Adam Clarke is of opinion, that the heron is here meant, conceiving the description of its making the firtree its house, as other bird.make their nests in the cedars of Lebanon, to be more agreeable to its natural history than to that of the stork properly speaking. He farther observes, that Aquila, who has given us an ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, and who is said to have been exquisitely skilled in the original language, always understood the chasidah to mean the heron, rather than the stork. “But,” he adds, “the two species resemble each other so much, that it is not improbable but one Hebrew word stood for both,” and refers to Doubdan, who supposes that storks in Palestine roost in trees. — Harmer’s Observations, volume 2, page 465, and volume 3, page 338.
ftd190 “On, chevreux.” — Fr. marg. “Or, the kids.” Calvin, by giving two different translations of the original word, appears to have been at a loss as to the animal meant. “The animal here intended,” says Mant, “is the Ibex or Rock Goat, a species of wild goat, deriving its Hebrew name from the wonderful manner in which it mounts to the top of the highest rocks, to which quality the sacred writers allude in the other two passages where the word occurs as well as in this. — See 1 Samuel 24:3; Job 39:1. To this quality natural historians bear abundant witness. Mr Cox thus describes the action of the Ibex, in ascending the mountains of Switzerland: — ‘He mounts a perpendicular rock of fifteen feet at three leaps, or rather three successive bounds of five feet each. It does not seem as if he found any footing on the rock, appearing to touch it merely to be repelled, like an elastic substance striking against a hard body. He is not supposed to take more than three successive leaps in this manner. If he is between two rocks which are near each other, and wants to reach the top, he leaps from the side of one rock to the other alternately, till he has obtained the summit.’”
ftd191 “Ou, connils.” — Fr. marg. “Or, the conies, or rabbits.” The Hebrew name of this animal, ˆpç, shaphan, from the verbs ˆpç, shaphan, or ˆps, saphan, to hide, seems to indicate a creature of a timid and harmless disposition. Feeble, and apprehensive of danger, it seeks a shelter among the fissures of the rocks, where it may be concealed from its enemies. To this circumstance allusion is here made; and it is also referred to by Solomon, (Proverbs 30:26) “The shaphans are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks.” It is evident from these words, that the shaphan is gregarious. What particular animal then is indicated by this name? Calvin, from giving the original term, one translation in the text, and a different one on the margin, seems to have been uncertain as to the species of animal intended, and on this point considerable variety of opinion has obtained. Some copies of the Septuagint have hedgehogs, and others, hares, the former being probably the right reading, as the Vulgate agrees with it. Bochart supposed the jerboa, or jumping-mouse, to be meant. But to this it has been justly objected, that the jerboa always digs its habitation in the smoother places of the desert, especially where the soil is fixed gravel; that it is not gregarious, nor distinguished by feebleness, which it supplies by its wisdom. Nor can it be the coney, or rabbit, that is here referred to; for, instead of seeking a habitation among the rocks, it delights to burrow in the sandy downs; and if it sometimes digs a place of shelter among the rocks, it is only where the openings are filled with earth. It is now pretty generally agreed, that the shaphan is the Daman Israel, as suggested by Dr Shaw. “The Daman Israel,” says this traveler, “is an animal likewise of Mount Lebanus, though common in other places of this country. It is a harmless creature, of the same size and quality with the rabbit, and with the like incurvating posture and disposition of the fore-teeth. But it is of a browner color with smaller eyes, and a head more pointed, like the marmots. The fore-feet likewise are short, and the hinder are nearly as long in proportion as those of the jerboa. Though this animal is known to burrow sometimes in the ground, yet as its usual residence and refuge is in the holes and clifts of the rocks, we have so far a more presumptive proof, that this creature may be the shaphan of the Scriptures, than the jerboa. I could not learn why it was called Daman Israel, i.e., Israel’s lamb, as those words are interpreted.” Travels, volume 2, pages 160, 161. It is called in Amhara, “Ashkoko.” Bruce confirms Dr Shaw’s opinion. He identifies the animals by the several other particulars mentioned in Scripture, as well as by their attachment to rocks, and their constant residence in holes and caves, as noticed in this psalm. See also Paxton’s Illustrations of Scripture, volume 2, pages 204-209.
ftd192 “What is here said of the lions peculiarly, that they ‘roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God,’ may be illustrated by what is observed of those creatures, that to their great strength and greediness and rapacity, they are not proportionably provided with swiftness of body to pursue in the desert those beasts on which they prey, nor yet so quick-scented, as to be able to follow and trace them to their places of repose. It hath therefore been necessary to the providing for these animals, that some supply should be made to these defects by some other way. And it hath been affirmed by some, that their very roaring is useful to them for this end, and that when they cannot overtake their prey, they do by that fierce noise so astonish and amaze the poor beasts, that they fall down before them. If this have that truth, which it professes to have, it gives a clear account both of the phrase of roaring after their prey, and of seeking it from God — of roaring, as being able to do nothing else toward the getting it, but only thus to frighten the hearers, and express his own hunger and want.” — Hammond. ftd193 In the French version all the verbs in this verse are translated in the present tense.
ftd194 “The greatest part of the Jewish feasts, as the New Moon, the Passover, the Pentecost, etc., were governed by the moon.” — Dimoch. ftd195 Fry reads in the text, “There pass the ships,” and at the foot of the page, “There go the whales.” “I cannot,” says he, “but indulge a conjecture in this place, that either the word we translate ships had anciently another meaning, and signified some aquatic animal; or that for twyna, we should read µynynt, or µynt: compare Genesis 1:21, ‘And God created great whales, µyldgh µynynj, and every living creature that moveth, hyjh tçmrh, which the waters brought forth abundantly after their kind.’ It has, however, been thought by some, that not whales, but some large marine animals, known on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, are intended by the term.” — “The first line of this verse,” says Dimock, “should probably be read in a parenthesis, if it is not an interpolation; and the grammatical construction requires that we should read ˆwklh. That wonderful piece of mechanism, a ship, whereby man becomes the lord of the sea, seems to have been originally constructed under the divine direction. — See Genesis 6:14.”
ftd196 The leviathan, which is described at large in Job 40., is now generally understood by commentators to be not the whale, but the crocodile, an inhabitant of the Nile. That it should here be numbered with the marine animals, need not surprise us, as the object of the divine poet is merely to display the kingdom of the watery world. Of these wide domains the sea of the Nile forms, in his view, a part. “µy transfertur ad omnia flumina majora. Est igitur in specie Nilus. Jes. 19, 5; Nab. 3, 8.” — Sire. Lex. Heb. — See volume 3, page 175, note 1.
ftd197 “This alludes to Genesis 1:2 as the continual succession of things is a kind of creation.” — Dimock. ftd198 “They smoke. Gejerus, Patrick, etc., refer this to Exodus 19:18. But may it not have respect also to volcanic mountains in general?” — Dimock. ftd199 “Through the whole of my existence, ydw[b, for my perpetuality. — See the word used in the same sense, <19D918>Psalm 139:18.” — Horsley. ftd200 “Ou, meditation.” — Fr. marg. “Or, meditation.”
ftd201 In our English Bible it is, my meditation of him shall be sweet.” As the prefix l[, al, signifies to, as well as on, it may be doubtful whether wyl[ should be rendered to him or on him. If in the latter sense, our English version is correct, “My meditation of or on him shall be sweet;” and with this the last clause of the verse would well accord, “I will be glad in the Lord,” which is an effect of the sweetness felt in meditating upon him. But all the ancient versions give the former rendering, according to these words in Psalm 19:14, “Let the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight.” Thus the Septuagint has ἡδυνθείη αὐτῷ, “Let it be sweet to him,” and similar is the rendering in the other versions.
ftd202 This psalm has no title in the Hebrew or Chaldee, but in the Vulgate,
Septuagint, Æthiopic, and Arabic versions, the hallelujah which concludes the preceding psalm is prefixed as the inscription. The first fifteen verses correspond with the first part of a song of thanksgiving, which David composed to be sung after the ark had been brought from Obed-edom to Zion. — See 1 Chronicles 15:8-22. Hence some conclude, that David was its inspired penman, and that he probably enlarged it at some subsequent period of his history, that it might supply a more complete commemoration of God’s signal and extraordinary goodness towards the Israelites from the days of Abraham to their final settlement in the land of Canaan; while others conclude, that it was enlarged by some Hebrew bard, at the restoration of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity. This psalm bears a strong resemblance to the 78th, as well in the subject as in the style, except perhaps that the diction here is rather of a more simple cast.
ftd203 In the French version it is, “Praise ye his holy name.” Hammond,
agreeably to this, would read, “Praise ye the name of his holiness;” thinking that b, beth, in, is a pleonasm.
ftd204 “For wzw, his strength, the LXX. seem to have read wz[, be strengthened, and accordingly render it κραταιωθῆτε, the Latin ‘confirmamini’, ‘be confirmed,’ and so the Syriac, ‘be strengthened.’ This the sense would well bear, ‘Seek the Lord, and be confirmed;’ let all your strength be sought from him. So the Jewish Arab, ‘Seek the Lord, and seek that he would strengthen you, or strength from him, or you shall certainly be strengthened,’ if by prayer you diligently seek him.” — Hammond. Horsley also reads, “Seek the Lord, and be strong.”
ftd205 With this agrees the interpretation of Lowth: “The holy ark, and the shechinah which remained upon it, the symbol of the divine presence, is called the face of God; and to seek the face of God, is to appear before the ark, to worship at the sanctuary of God, which was required of the Israelites thrice a year. — See 2 Samuel 21:1; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Psalm 27:8; Exodus 23:17, — Lectures on the Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews, volume 2, page 24l.
ftd206 See Genesis 15:17, 18; 17:2; 22:16; 26:3; 35:11.
ftd207 See Genesis 26:3.
ftd208 To Jacob also he renewed at Beersheba all the gracious assurances of the covenant which he had made with Abraham, and ratified to Isaac, (Genesis 28:10-15;) and he again renewed them at Padan-aram, (Genesis 35:9-15; 13:1-5,) when he changed his name from Jacob to Israel.
ftd209 In our English version it is lot. But the original word signifies a cord or line. There is here an illusion to the several lots or portions into which the land of Canaan was divided among the twelve tribes; which were measured by lines. See volume 1, page 225, note 4. It being thought by some learned men that the descendants of Heber possessed the land of Canaan before the Canaanites, and that the latter unjustly dispossessed them, (see volume 3, page 264, note 3;) Dimock supposes that the phrase, “the lot of your inheritance,” refers to this prior and rightful possession. But the appellation given them in verse 12th, as strangers in it, seems to militate against such an opinion. Nor is it necessary for vindicating God to have recourse to such a supposition. As he is the supreme proprietor of all the earth, he has a right to give it to whomsoever he pleases; and the wickedness of the Canaanites sufficiently justified their expulsion.
ftd210 Dr Morison explains the 13th, 14th, and 15th verses thus: — “When they went from one part of Canaan to another, which they found possessed by seven great nations, (Genesis 7:1;) when they were driven from one kingdom to another people, — sometimes in Egypt, (Genesis 12:10) sometimes in Gerar, (Genesis 20:1; 26,) and sometimes in the country of the East, from whence they came, (Genesis 29:1,) he suffered no one to injure them; on the contrary, he raised up friends for them, (Genesis 31:24, 42,) rebuked the kings of Egypt (Genesis 12:16, 17) and Gerar (Genesis 20:3) for their sakes, and counseled them in the most solemn terms not to touch or injure the persons of his anointed servants, (Genesis 26:11, 29,) by whom, that is by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Most High communicated his will to his Church, pouring his Spirit upon them, and making them kings and priests in the distinguished families to which they belonged.”
ftd211 “Famine is here finely represented as a servant, ready to come and go at the ‘call’ and command of God; for calamities, whether public or private, are the messengers of divine justice.” — Horne. ftd212 The memory of this circumstance might, therefore, have been preserved by tradition; or it may be simply a conclusion drawn from Joseph’s being incarcerated, and from the crime of which he was accused. When it is considered that prisoners were ordinarily secured by chains, and when the magnitude of the crime charged upon him, that of making an attempt upon the chastity of his mistress, is farther taken into account, it is a very probable inference, that when cast into prison, he was put in chains.
ftd213 The first of these readings is the most probable. The Hebrew is wçpn hab lzrb. “The verb being here in the feminine gender shows that the subject is wçpn, and that lzrb is accusative. In this manner the phrase is rendered by the LXX. Σίδηρον διῆλθεν ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ, ‘his soul passed through iron;’ and so the Syriac, ‘his soul went into iron;’ but the Chaldee, disregarding the gender, has taken it the other way, ‘the chain of iron went into his soul.’” — (Phillips’ Psalms in Hebrew, with a Critical, Exegetical, and Philological Commentary.)
ftd214 It is so understood by Dr Kennicott. He refers the first clause of the verse to the completion of Joseph’s interpretation of the dreams of the chief butler and baker; an opinion which cannot be admitted, for Joseph was not delivered at that time, but two years after it, Genesis 41:1. He refers the second clause to the interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams, called the Word or Oracle of Jehovah, because sent by him to Pharaoh. In this sense Hammond also interprets it. “The word of the Lord.” says he, “is God’s showing him the meaning of those dreams, (Genesis 41:39) God’s telling him, or revealing to him, the interpretation of them.” Some who take this view explain the verb tried, not as referring to the trial of Joseph’s patience, but as referring to the proof of his innocence. “prx,” says Street, “in its primary sense, signifies to refine metals, or to examine their purity by fire: by metaphor it is applied to the human heart, and signifies to purify, to prove, to examine; but as metal, already free from dross, would not be refined, but only show its purity on being assayed, so here the Word seems to signify showed him to be innocent. Joseph, protesting his innocence to Pharaoh’s butler, says, (Genesis 40:10) ‘Here also have I done nothing that they should put me in the dungeon;’ and Pharaoh assigns it as his reason for taking him from prison, and setting him over the land of Egypt, (Genesis 41:38) ‘Can ye find as this is a man in whom the Spirit of God is?’ His interpreting, by the inspiration of God, their dreams, exempted him at once from being any longer looked on as a criminal, and raised him to the highest honors.” “This word,” says Phillips, “proved Joseph, or purified him, as the verb literally means, for it made him appear pure or innocent in the eyes of the people, who were thus assured that God was with him, and that he must therefore be a pious person, and not guilty of the crime for which he was thrown into a dungeon.”
ftd215 “The meaning of to bind his princes is to exercise control over the greatest men in the kingdom, which power was conferred on Joseph by Pharaoh: see Genesis 41:40; also verses 43, 44. The capability of binding is to be regarded as an evidence of authority; a power of compelling obedience; or, in default thereof, of inflicting punishment.” — Phillips. ftd216 “As the two members of the verse express substantially the same thing, we infer the land of Ham to be the same as Egypt. Ham, the son of Noah, was father to Mizraim, who is supposed to have been the founder of the Egyptians, and hence the two names of the country. Jerome, in his note on Genesis 10:6, observes that Egypt was called in his day, in the Egyptian language, by the name of Ham.” — Ibid. ftd217 “Ou, fortifia.” — Fr. marg. “Or, strengthened.”
ftd218 “For rsal, the LXX., Vulgate, and Jerome, certainly had rsyl, ‘to tutor;’ or they took rsa in the sense of rsy, as they took it in Hosea, chapter 10:10.” — Horsley. ftd219 “En un peuple le plus superbe de tout le monde.” — Fr.
ftd220 “The root µx[,” says Phillips, “signifies to be strong, not only with regard to physical force, but also with respect to number: Psalm 38:20; 40:6; 69:5, etc.; in German, a great number is called eine starke Anzahl, a strong number. Number seems to be referred to in this passage.”
ftd221 “Chrysostom says that he turned is the same as he permitted to turn. See his note on the verse.” — Phillips. ftd222 “Ou ceux qui veulent estre trop prudens pour remedier aux inconvenions, ce leur semble.” — Fr.
ftd223 “The words of his signs, — i.e., declarations; which were afterwards confirmed by miracles.” — Cresswell. “In this phrase,” says Hammond, “the words of his signs or prodigies, yrbd, words, seems to be somewhat more than a pleonasm. God had told them what signs they should use, to convince the people first, and then Pharaoh, of their mission; and so in each judgment God commands, and they show the sign; and God’s thus telling or speaking to them is, properly, yrbd, words, and the matter of these words expressed by wytwta, signs or prodigies of his, — viz., which as he directed, he would also enable them to do among them.”
ftd224 They executed the command of God, with respect to the plagues brought on the Egyptians, although they knew that in thus acting they would incur the heavy displeasure of Pharaoh, and expose their lives to considerable danger. “The import of al wrm, they resisted not,” says Hammond, “seems no more than what is affirmed in the story, Exodus 10:21, 22, ‘The Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thy hand. — And Moses stretched forth his hand,’ — i.e., readily obeyed, and did what God directed, and that at a time when Pharaoh was likely to be incensed, and vehemently offended with him and Aaron. For which consideration the story there gives us this farther ground: for as, verse 10, he had before expressed some anger and threats, — ‘Look to it, for evil is before you,’ and ‘they were driven from his presence,’ verse 11; so now, upon the hardening his heart, which follows this plague of darkness, he said to Moses, ‘Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more, for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die the death,’ verse 28. This rage of Pharaoh, Moses in reason might well foresee, but he dreaded it not; but boldly did as God directed, and that is the meaning of “they resisted not God’s word.’”
ftd225 The Hebrew verb for brought forth is ≈rç, sharats, which signifies to multiply exceedingly; and “the noun is used for creeping things, because they procreate in great abundance. It cannot therefore be more fitly translated, as is observed by Hammond, than by swarming.” — Phillips. ftd226 The original word for a swarm of flies is br[, arob. For some account of the noxious insects here meant, see volume 3, page 258, note 2.
ftd227 The Hebrew word for lice is µynk, kannim. The reading in the Septuagint is sknifev, and in the Vulgate sciniphes, which signifies a species of little gnats that sting painfully in the marshy country of Egypt; the culex reptans of Linnaeus, or the culex molestus of Forskal. In support of the accuracy of this interpretation it has been said, that as the translators of the Septuagint dwelt in Egypt, it can hardly be supposed that they were ignorant of what was intended by the Hebrew name. Philo, an Alexandrian Jew, and Origen, a Christian father, who likewise lived at Alexandria, have also been produced as confirming this interpretation. Both Philo and Origen represent these insects as being very small, but very troublesome. The latter describes them as winged insects, but so small as to escape any but the acutest sight; and says, that when settled on the body, they wound it with a most sharp and painful piercer. Jerome also supports this view, while Gesenius, Boothroyd, and others, concur in it. The Jewish interpreters, however, and Josephus, understand the original word as denoting lice; which has been adopted by the translators of our English Bible, and which Bochart likewise follows, with most of the modern commentators. Bochart argues that gnats could not be intended: — 1. Because the creatures here mentioned sprang from the dust of the earth, and not from the waters. 2. Because they were both on men and cattle, which cannot be spoken of gnats. 3. Because their name comes from a root which signifies to make firm, fix, establish, which could not apply to gnats, flies, etc., as they are almost constantly on the wing. 4. Because hnk, kinah, is the term given by the Talmudists for louse. The translation given by Calvin, and in our English Bible, appears the most correct, but whichever we adopt, it is necessary to conclude (which the history expressly states) that the creatures were brought in swarms, most extraordinary even for Egypt, and thus a miraculous interposition was made manifest. This judgment was the more noisome and disgraceful to the Egyptians, from the great external purity which they affected, and from their being very nice both in their persons and clothing; bathing and making ablutions continually. They were particularly solicitous not to harbour any vermin, thinking it would be a great profanation of the temple which they entered, if any animalculae of this sort were concealed in their garments.
ftd228 The Hebrew word translated caterpillar is qly, yelek. This word is in our English Bible rendered caterpillar here, and in Jeremiah 51:27; but in Joel 1:4, 2:25, and Nahum 3:15, it is rendered cankerworm. In the passage in Nahum the creature is spoken of as winged and bristled, whence some commentators suppose that a kind of locust is intended. “It certainly means some insect remarkable for destroying vegetables, probably the ‘chafer’ or ‘maybug,’ broucov, as the LXX. render it in five passages out of eight wherein it occurs. The Vulgate throughout renders it bruchus, the ‘chafer.’ Michaelis thinks it means the ‘chafer,’ particularly in its vermicular state, when it is much more destructive to plants, namely, by gnawing, eating, and cankering their roots, than after it has taken wing.” — Parkhurst’s Lexicon on qly, under ql, 2.
ftd229 The beginning, or the first-fruit of all their strength, is understood by Lowth to mean the first-born of the mother. His note on the verse in Merrick’s Annotations is as follows: — “Απαρχὴν πόνου, Primitias laboris vel partus. LXX. Vulg. Hieron. Compare Genesis 35:18. This, I think, is the right translation. The first-born, that were slain on this occasion, were those that opened the womb; the first-born of the mother, not of the father, as it appears from the circumstances
of the history.” The first-born of cattle is no doubt also intended. — See Genesis 49:3; and Psalm 78:51.
ftd230 Allusion is made to the Israelites carrying with them in their departure from Egypt, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, which they borrowed of the Egyptians, Exodus 12:36.
ftd231 “And there was not any one stumbling among his tribes. The LXX. have rendered lçwk by ajsqenhv infirm, so that they understood the Psalmist to say, there was no one incapable of following the multitude, — no one was prevented by disease or infirmity from accomplishing the journey.” — Phillips. What a striking contrast between their condition and that of their oppressors! While in every Egyptian dwelling, death had left his victim, not one of all the children of Israel was unable to prosecute his heaven-directed flight from that land of bondage.
ftd232 The meaning of this proverb is to be in danger, or hard set on every side; for if you hold the wolf, he bites you by the fingers; if you let him go, he may destroy you.
ftd233 From the heavy and overwhelming judgments inflicted upon Pharaoh and his people, for refusing to allow the Israelites to depart, they came to associate the presence of that people in their land, with the most terrible manifestations of divine displeasure. This at last led them, after all their inveterate impenitence, to hail with gratitude the departure of the hated tribes.
ftd234 See volume 3, page 248, note.
ftd235 “It does not appear from the history, that the Israelites supplicated God at all, but only murmured against Moses and Aaron for bringing them into the wilderness.” — Phillips. ftd236 That is, the products of their labor; their buildings, vineyards, cultivated fields, etc. The Israelites took possession of the land of Canaan, and of course possessed themselves of the advantages arising from its occupation, and cultivation by those who previously inhabited it. — See Deuteronomy 6:10, 11; Joshua 24:13.
ftd237 The first and two last verses of this psalm form a part of that psalm which David delivered into the hand of Asaph and his brethren, to be sung before the ark of the covenant, after it was brought from the house of Obed-edom to mount Zion. See 1 Chronicles 16:34-36. Hence it has been ascribed to the pen of David. Many of the ancients thought, and they are followed by Horsley and Mudge, that it was written during the captivity; resting their opinion chiefly on verse 47; but as that verse occurs in the psalm of David recorded in 1 Chronicles 16, at the 35th verse, this argument is clearly without force.
ftd238 “hy wllh, Praise the Lord. These words constitute the title, and are
not to be considered as making any part of the text of the psalm. The Chaldee retains them as a title; the LXX. and Vulgate have the Hebrew words, which are joined into one; whilst the Syriac has in their stead a sort of table of contents of the psalm.” — Phillips. ftd239 “bwfAyk, For he is good. wyfpçm is employed emphatically, denoting that God is good, without any mixture of evil, perfectly good in himself, and is, as it were, the fountain from which flows every good, and nothing but good. Hence we read in Matthew 19:17, ‘There is none good but one, that is, God.’” — Ibid. ftd240 Bishop Horsley, following the Syriac, which reads wyfpçm, and all the other versions, which read yç[, translates the verse, “Blessed are they that keep his judgments, and do righteousness at all seasons.”
ftd241 It is the province of faith to celebrate the divine mercy in the most
trying circumstances.
ftd242 “Ils vienent a demander pardon de leurs pechez.” — Fr. ftd243 “En beaucoup d’articles de condemnation.” — Fr.
ftd244 “At the Red Sea, i.e., at the Arabian Gulf; literally, at the Sea of Suph,
which, if Suph be not here a proper name, (as it seems to be in
Deuteronomy 1:1 and, with a slight variation, in Numbers 21:14) means the sea of weeds; and that sea is still
called by a similar name in modern Egypt. This, its designation throughout the books of the Old Testament, is in the Syriac version
and the Chaldee paraphrase likewise rendered the sea of weeds; which name may have been derived from the weeds growing near its shore, or from the weeds, or coralline productions, with which, according to Diodorus Siculus and Kircher, it abounded; and which were seen through its translucent waters. Finati, quoted by Laborde, speaks of the transparency of its waters, and the corals seen at its bottom.” — Cresswell. It has sometimes been asserted that this sea received the appellation of Red from its color. But it has been abundantly attested by those who have seen it, that it is no more red than any other sea. Niebuhr, in his description of Arabia, says, “The Europeans are accustomed to give the Arabian Gulf the name of Red Sea; nevertheless, I have not found it any more red than the Black Sea or the White Sea, or any other sea in the world.” Artemidorus in Strabo expressly tells us that “it looks of a green color, by reason of the abundance of sea-weed and moss that grow in it;” which Diodorus Siculus also asserts of a particular part of it. It appears to have derived its name of “Red Sea” from Edom, which signifies red. Although throughout the whole Scriptures of the Old Testament it is called Yam Suph, the weedy sea, yet among the ancient inhabitants of the countries adjoining it was called Yam Edom, the sea of Edom, (1 Kings 9:26; 2 Chronicles 8:17, 18,) the land of Edom having extended to the Arabian Gulf; and the Edomites or Idumeans having occupied at one time a part, if not the whole, of Arabia Petraea. The Greeks, who took the name of the sea from the Phoenicians, who called it Yam Edom, instead of rendering it the sea of Edom, or, the Idumean Sea, as they ought to have done, took the word Edom, by mistake, for an appellative, instead of a proper name, and accordingly rendered it eruqra qalassa, that is, the Red Sea. Hence the LXX. translate Yam Suph, by the Red Sea; in which they have been followed by the authors of our English version. But the sea of weeds is undoubtedly the best translation of the Hebrew text. — See Prideaux’ Connections, etc., volume 1, pages 39, 40.
ftd245 The history to which reference is here made is recorded in Exodus 15 We read in the 22nd verse of that chapter, that the Israelites “went out into the wilderness of Shur, and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.” They then came to Marah, where there was abundance of water; but it was so bitter that they could not drink of it. Being thus disappointed in the hopes with which the first sight of these waters inspired them, they murmured against Moses, and said, “What shall we drink?” How rapid the transition from gratitude and praise to discontent and murmuring! No sooner did a new trouble befall that people, than they forthwith yielded to impatience, forgat the long series of miracles which had been wrought for their deliverance from Egypt, and distrusting God, appeared to be at once prepared to break out in rebellion against him and Moses their leader.
ftd246 The reference here is to the quails which God granted to the people in answer to their request for flesh, but which, from the excess in which they partook of them, so far from affording nourishment, proved the cause of disease. When food of an unwholesome quality, or too much of that which is wholesome, is eaten, nature with much violence seeks to throw it off from the system by the several evacuations, upon which follows a sudden and almost incredible deprivation of strength and flesh. The Israelites, when God gave them the quails, having indulged their appetite to an immoderate degree, (Exodus 16:8; Psalm 78:25, 29,) the effect was their being seized with a sudden and wasting sickness, which is supposed by some to have been what is called cholera, a disease which produces a rapid prostration of strength and emaciation of the whole frame. This opinion seems confirmed from what is stated in Numbers 11:20, where it is threatened that the quails should “come out at their nostrils,” probably indicating the violent vomitings which accompany that malady. It is indeed said, that the Lord smote the people with a very great plague, Numbers 11:33. But God’s agency, and even his miraculous agency, admits of the subserviency of means. French and Skinner read the clause, “But sent a wasting disease among them.” “The word hzr, to attenuate, emaciate,” says Hammond, “is used also for destroying, Zephaniah 2:11, when God threatens that he will emaciate, i.e., destroy all the gods. And then ˆwzr, may be rendered, more generally, destruction or plague, and so R. Tanchum on Zephaniah renders it destruction.”
ftd247 “The saint, i.e., a man consecrated with holy oil to the office of the priesthood, and wearing on his mitre a plate inscribed, ‘Holiness to the Lord,’ (Exodus 28:36)” — Cresswell. Hwhy çwdq, holy of the
Lord. Aaron is thus called, because he was separated from the whole congregation of Israel, and appointed to direct the public worship, and to offer the sacrifices. In reference to this, Moses said to Korah, ‘The Lord will show who are His, and who is holy,’ (Numbers 16:5) — Phillips. ftd248 The fire consumed two hundred and fifty, and fourteen thousand and seven hundred died of the plague. — Numbers 16:35, 49.
ftd249 “Capitaines et portenseignes.” — Fr.
ftd250 This idol seems to have been an imitation of the Egyptian God Apis, or Serapis, a word which signifies the head of an ox, the Egyptians having exalted that animal to the rank of a god whom they absurdly worshipped, and to whom they resorted as to an oracle. “The modern Jews assert, that their ancestors were in that matter misled by certain Egyptian proselytes, who had accompanied the Israelites when they were delivered from their bondage. The Psalmist, it may be remarked, does not observe the order of time in his narrative, the making of the calf being prior to the fate of Dathan and Abiram. — Comp. Exodus 32:4, 5.” — Cresswell. ftd251 “More properly, ‘the overlaid image;’ or, more literally still, ‘the metalline shell.’” — Horsley. “The Hebrew word,” says Mant, “here, as elsewhere, rendered by our translators ‘molten image,’ strictly and properly means ‘the metalline case’ or ‘covering spread over’ the carved wood. It is often joined with the ‘carved wooden, image’ which it covered. Aaron’s calf was thus made of wood, and overlaid with gold.”
ftd252 “That eateth hay — the Egyptians, when they consulted Apis, presented a bottle of hay or of grass, and if the ox received it, they expected good success.” — Cresswell. ftd253 “Empruntent des creatures mortes la continuation d’icelle.” — Fr.
ftd254 Some interpreters, as Mudge and Horsley, have felt great difficulty in interpreting this verse. “Nothing,” says the latter critic, “was said about overthrowing the seed, at the time when the adults, which came out of Egypt, were sentenced to perish in the wilderness. On the contrary, it was promised that their little ones, i.e., those who were under the age of twenty years at the time of the general muster, should be settled in the land of Canaan. — See Numbers 14.” He farther adds, that “nothing was said at the time alluded to about scattering the seed, which should be settled in Canaan, in some future period, through the lands.” And he concludes his note on the verse by observing, that, upon the whole, he could not explain it to his own satisfaction. But there seems in the passage to be a reference to those prophetical denunciations afterwards uttered, by which God threatened that he would punish the sins of the Israelites, not only in their own persons, but also in their posterity; — denunciations which have been fulfilled in the various dispersions of that people, and which are fulfilling at the present day. — Leviticus 26:33; Deuteronomy 28:64. “It is obvious,” says Dr Morison, “that those interpreters are mistaken who refer the allusions of the 27th verse to the same history as those of the 26th. The people overthrown in the wilderness were to be destroyed by pestilence; but the overthrow threatened in the 27th verse was by banishment and captivity.”
ftd255 The sins of the people had opened a breach or gap, for God as an enemy to enter and destroy them. But, like soldiers who stand in the breach that has been made in the walls of a beleaguered city to oppose the irruption of the enemy, Moses, by his earnest prayer, stopped this breach, Exodus 32:11-14. “Moses is here mentioned in the character of a mediator, under the figure of one standing in the breach of the wall of a city made by besiegers, to oppose any farther hostile aggressions. The figure of a breach is frequently employed in Scripture to denote some destruction by God. Thus in Judges 21:15, God made a breach,≈rp, in the tribes of Israel, i.e., He destroyed one of the tribes, viz., that of Benjamin: see also 2 Samuel 6:8; Ezekiel 22:30. Hence in this passage we understand that God would have destroyed the Israelites, had not Moses stood in the breach, i.e., interceded by his prayers, just at the time when the divine judgments were about to be executed. The Chaldee has paraphrased it thus, If Moses had not stood before Him and prevailed in prayer, i.e., arrested the destruction.” — Phillips ftd256 The passage refers to the oath which God swore against that people recorded in Numbers 14:21-23. To the same oath there is an allusion in Psalm 95:11. The Chaldee paraphrast has, “He lifted up his hand with an oath.”
ftd257 In our English Bible it is “their inventions.” “Rather,” says Horsley, “‘their frolics.’”
ftd258 “Signifie autant comme Maistre ou Patron.” — Fr. ftd259 Baal was a very common name of the principal male god of the nations of the East, as Ashtaroth was a common one for their chief female deity. The Moabites, Phoenicians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and often the Hebrews, worshipped this idol. Among the Babylonians, he was called Bel or Belus. The sun only might at first be worshipped under that name, as we know that under it the Phoenicians adored that luminary. But at length it came to be applied to many other idols, according to these words of the Apostle, “There be gods many, and baalims, or lords many,” 1 Corinthians 8:5. As the idol Jupiter among the Romans had different names and different rites of worship, occasioned sometimes from the different benefits which he was thought to bestow upon men, as Jupiter Pluvius, because he gave rain, Jupiter Lucetius, because he gave light, Jupiter Altitonans, from thundering; and sometimes from different places — as Jupiter Olympius, from the hill Olympus, Jupiter Capitolinus, from the Capitol hill, Jupiter Latialis, from that part of Italy which is called Latium: so Baal had his distinctive titles, and different rites of worship, occasioned in the same manner. He sometimes received his name from the benefits he was supposed to confer, as Baal-tsephon, (Exodus 14:1) the latter term denoting a watcher, and Baalzebub, (2 Kings 1:2) which signifies the lord of the flies. He was worshipped under this last name by the Cyrenians, but principally by Ekronites, because, whenever they sacrificed to him, they believed that the swarms of flies, which at that time molested the country, would die. At other times he received a distinctive appellation from the places where he was worshipped, as Baal-peor, from the hill Peor, mentioned in Numbers 23:28; and his temple, whither his votaries resorted, standing on the same hill, was called Beth-peor, Deuteronomy 3:29. Possibly, however, the mountain might have taken its name from the god that was there worshipped. The idol named Chemosh, in Jeremiah 48:7, is thought to be the same as Baal-peor. “I take it,” says Goodwin, “to be applied to Baal-peor, by way of contempt, as if one should say their blind god, according to that in the psalm, ‘They have eyes, and see not;’ for the first letter, caph, signifies as it were, or like, and çwm, musch, to grope, or feel about in manner of blind men.” Moses and Aaron, page 170. This idol was also called Baal-bereth, (Judges 8:33, and 9:4,) from his worshippers binding themselves to him by covenant.
ftd260 “The dead” appears to be a term of contempt applied to idols. They are so called in opposition to the true and living God. There may also be an allusion to the fact, that many of the heathen idols were men who had been deified after their death.
ftd261 “Lequel outre les limites de sa vocation.” — Fr.
ftd262 And it was counted to him for righteousness. Dr Hammond properly observes, that this expression signifies something more than justifying, as being the opposite of condemning; for thus it would denote no more than acquitting Phinehas, who had certainly committed no offense; on the contrary, by this act an offended God was satisfied. He gives to hqdx, therefore, the sense of reward, in which he is supported by the Chaldee, which has wkzl, for merit. Mendlessohn also, in his Beor to Genesis 15:6, where this phrase occurs, assigns to hqdx the meaning of merit or reward. The reward in this case, we learn from the history, consisted in placing the priesthood in his family for ever and ever, as stated in the next portion of the verse. — See Numbers 25:13.” — Phillips. ftd263 At the waters of Meribah, where “they strove with the Lord,” Numbers 20:13. — See Psalm 95:8.
ftd264 “Ou, feirent rebeller.” — Fr. marg. “Or, made his spirit to rebel.”
ftd265 “‘But were mingled among’ rather, ‘But formed alliances with.’” — Horsley. ftd266 “ — ‘And went a whoring with their own inventions;’ rather, — ‘and play the wanton in their perverse habits.’” — Horsley. ftd267 “Quid igitur fief ubi oleum camino adder aliena instigatio?” — Lat. “Que sera-ce donc quand l’instigation d’autruy iettera (comme l’on dit) de l’huile dedans le feu?” — Fr. ftd268 “Dum adoratione duliae, non latriae, se imagines colere excusant.” — Lat. — See volume 2, page 272, note.
ftd269 “µydçl, to the devils. This word is found only here and in Deuteronomy 32:17, ‘They sacrificed unto devils, not to God,’
etc. Some persons derive it from dwç, to lay waste. Michaelis, from an Arabic word, signifying to be black. Hengstenberg, from an Arabic word, signifying to exercise lordship. Whatever root may be the true one, there is no doubt that µydç denotes false gods of some kind or another to which human sacrifices were offered.” — Phillips. That the Canaanites, and their descendants, the Carthaginians, as well as other heathen nations, sacrificed men, and even their dearest children, to appease their deities, is a fact established not only from the Sacred Writings, but also from profane history; and strange as it may seem, it is no less certain, that in this they were imitated by the Israelites, who offered their sons and daughters to the same false gods. Compare 2 Kings 16:3; 17:17; 21:6; 2 Chronicles 28:3; 33:6. They had been expressly warned against this horrid practice, (Leviticus 18:21; 20:3; Deuteronomy 12:31; 18:10;) but so infatuated were they, and such is the desperate wickedness of the human heart and the power of Satan over men, that they frequently relapsed into it. Dr Adam Clarke translates the original word which Calvin renders devils by demons. “Devil,” says he, “is never in Scripture used in the plural; there is but ONE devil, though there are
MANY demons.”
ftd270 “Mais quand les deux Romains nommez Decii.” — Fr.
ftd271 The Hebrew for “Praise ye Jehovah,” is hyAwllh, Haleluyah, — a word which occurs very frequently at the beginning and end of psalms. The LXX., leaving it untranslated, have Allhlouia</span>. From this solemn form of praise to God, which no doubt was far more ancient than the time of David, the ancient Greeks plainly had their similar acclamation, <span style="color:#0000d4">Allhlouia, with which they both began and ended their poems or hymns in honor of Apollo. — See Parkhurst’s Lexicon on llh, 4. With this psalm is concluded the fourth of the books into which the Psalms have been divided by the Jews.
ftd272 “The author of this psalm is not known; but it was probably David, although some think it better to consider it as having been written after the return from the Babylonish captivity. This psalm is of very singular construction, and was obviously intended to be sung in responses. It has a frequently recurring double burden or intercalary verse. The first burden is found in verses 6, 13, 19, 28; the second 8, 15, 21, 31; that is, after the description of a class of calamities comes the first chorus expressing the cry to the Lord for deliverance; then a single verse describes the deliverance as granted, after which follows the chorus of thanksgiving — and thus on to verse 35, where the system ends. The last two burdens are, however, separate by two verses instead of one, as before. It will also be observed, that the second chorus has sometimes annexed another reflective distich, illustrative of the sentiment, as in verses 9, 16. There are many other examples of a similar arrangement to be found in the Psalms; but in Lowth’s opinion, few of them are equal, and none superior, to this.” — Illustrated Commentary upon the Bible. The beauties of this very interesting and highly instructive composition are many and striking, of which the least intelligent reader who peruses it with any degree of attention must be convinced. In point of poetical beauty, it may, according to the best judges, be classed with the most admired productions of Theocritus, Bion, Moschus, or Virgil. “It may undoubtedly be enumerated,” remarks Lowth, “among the most elegant monuments of antiquity; and it is chiefly indebted for its elegance to the general plan and conduct of the poem. It celebrates the goodness and mercy of God towards mankind, as demonstrated in the immediate assistance and comfort which he affords, in the greatest calamities, to those who devoutly implore his aid: in the first place, to those who wander in the desert, and who encounter the horrors of famine; next, to those who are in bondage; again, to those who are afflicted with disease; and, finally, to those who are tossed about upon the ocean. The prolixity of the argument is occasionally relieved by narration; and examples are superadded of the divine severity in punishing the wicked, as well as of his benignity to the devout and virtuous.” —
Lectures on the Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews, volume 2, page 376. “Had such an Idyl,” says Dr Adam Clarke, “appeared in Theocritus or Virgil, or had it been found as a scene in any of the Greek Tragedies, even in Æschylus himself, it would have been praised up to the heavens, and probably been produced as their masterpiece.”
ftd273 “Let the redeemed of the Lord say, viz., what is said in the latter part of the preceding verse, that his mercy endureth for ever. — See <19B801>Psalm 118:1, and following verses.” — Phillips. ftd274 “rxAdym, from the hand or power of the enemy. Luther has translated it, aus Noth, from want; in which translation he is followed by Hengstenberg, who observes, that rx, want, ‘is here personified, and is represented as a dangerous enemy, who has Israel in his hand. In the whole psalm the discourse is not concerning enemies, but only concerning want or misery.’ — See verses 6, 13. He is probably right, for it is doubtful whether rx, ever signifies an enemy, except, perhaps, in a few passages in the latter books of the Bible.” — Phillips. ftd275 The original word is µymw, “and from the sea;” to which agree all the ancient versions, and the Chaldee interprets it of the Southern Sea. µy is often put for the Mediterranean Sea; which being west of Judea, this word came to signify generally the west, when employed to express one of the cardinal points, Genesis 12:8; Exodus 10:19. But it is also used for the Red Sea, as in <19B403>Psalm 114:3, where µy is put absolutely for ãws, which lay to the south of Judea, and hence the word might denote the south point. Hare, Secker, Kennicott, and Horsley, would read ˆymym, “from the south.” Gesenius and Hengstenberg are of opinion, apparently without sufficient reason, that µy, both in this passage and in Isaiah 49:12, where it is also joined with ˆwpx, the north, has the signification of west. ftd276 “Ou, Ils se sont fourvoyez au desert tous seulets.” — Fr. marg. “Or, they wandered solitary in the desert.”
ftd277 To secure the gates of cities, it is customary in the East, at the present day, to cover them with thick plates of brass and iron. Maundrell speaks of the enormous gates of the principal mosque at Damascus, formerly the Church of St John the Baptist, being plated over with brass. Pitts informs us, that Algiers has five gates, and some of these have two, some three, other gates within them; and that some of them are plated all over with thick iron, being made strong and convenient for what it is — a nest of pirates. — Harmer’s Observations, volume 1, page 329. To such a practice, which, in all probability, obtained in ancient times, there seems to be here a reference. From this verse some have been inclined to think that the psalm was written after the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity. This deliverance was predicted, in precisely the same terms, in that remarkable passage, where God promises to go before Cyrus his anointed, and “break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron,” (Isaiah 45:2) This phraseology appropriately expresses the superior and almost impregnable strength of Babylon. “Abydenus, quoted by Eusebius in his Praeparatio Evangelica, says that the wall of Babylon had brazen gates. And Herodotus more particularly, — ‘In the wall all around there are a hundred gates all of brass; and so, in like manner, are the sides and the lintels.’ The gates likewise within the city, opening to the river from the several streets, were of brass: as were those also of the Temple of Belus.” — (Lowth on Isaiah 45:2) But still these brazen gates could not secure the city and the empire from falling into the hands of the instrument chosen by God for the deliverance of his people.
ftd278 “The Psalmist is speaking of sick men, to whom the most desirable food is often abhorrent.” — Phillips. ftd279 “Ou, fosses, ou pieges.” — Fr. marg. “Pitfalls, or snares.”
ftd280 This psalm is distinguished for beautiful and inimitable description. In the preceding part of it, the weary and bewildered traveler, — the forlorn and wretched captive, shut up in the dungeon and bound in fetters, — the sick and dying man, — are painted in the most striking and affecting manner. In this verse there is a transition to ships, and the dangers of mariners foundering in a storm, which is continued to the close of the 30th verse. This has often been admired as one of the sublimest descriptions of a sea-storm anywhere to be found, either in the Sacred Writings, or in profane authors.
ftd281 Horsley reads, “And all their skill is drowned;” “that is,” says he, “their skill in the art of navigation is drowned; a metaphor taken from the particular danger which threatens them.” Phillips reads, And all their wisdom is absorbed or swallowed up; which, in like manner, he explains as denoting that “their alarm is so great, that their knowledge deserts them; they lose all self-possession, and become entirely unfit for managing the ship.”
ftd282 Instead of in their straits, Phillips reads, from their prison-houses, places of confinement. “By their prison-houses,” says he, “we understand the ship in which they were confined; to be liberated from which, and consequently from the risk of a watery grave, they cried unto the Lord.”
ftd283 “µ[, the people, is here evidently opposed to µynqz, elders, and both signify the whole assembly or congregation. For, among the Jews, the doctors, rulers of the synagogue, and elders, had a distinct apartment from the people, and the service being much in antiphona, or response, part was spoken by them that officiated in the seat of the elders, and the rest by the multitude of common men, the ἰδιῶται, that answered Amen at least, at their giving of thanks.” — Hammond. ftd284 “The men of the ship go up to heaven, i.e., rise high in the air when the wave lifteth up the ship, and afterwards, because of the wave they descend to the deep; and from thus ascending and descending, the soul of the men of the ship melteth within them on account of the danger in which they are placed.” — Kimchi. ftd285 The consternation into which those at sea are thrown in a dangerous storm, and their deliverance by God in answer to prayer, is so beautifully described in the well known and admirable hymn of Addison, that we shall take the liberty to quote a part of it:
*“Think, O my soul! devoutly think,* *How with affrighted eyes,* *Thou saw’st the wide-extended deep,* *In all its horrors rise.*
*“Confusion dwelt on every face,* *And fear in every heart;* *When waves on waves, and gulfs on gulfs,* *O’ercame the pilot’s art.*
*“Yet then, from all my griefs, O Lord,* *Thy mercy set me free;* *Whilst in the confidence of prayer,* *My soul took hold on Thee.*
*“For though in dreadful whirls we hung* *High in the broken wave,* *I knew Thou wert not slow to hear,* *Nor impotent to save.*
*“The storm was laid, the winds retir’d,* *Obedient to thy will;* *The sea that roar’d at thy command,* *At thy command was still!”*
ftd286 Among the circumstances selected by the prophet in this striking description of a storm at sea, God’s agency, both in raising and calming it, is not to be overlooked. He is introduced as first causing, by His omnipotent command, the tempest to sweep over the ocean, whose billows are thus made to rise in furious agitation mountains high: and, again, as hushing the winds into a calm, and allaying the agitation of the waves. The description would be utterly mutilated were the special reference to the Divine power in such phenomena omitted. “How much more comfortable, as well as rational, is the system of the Psalmist, than the Pagan scheme in Virgil, and other poets, where one deity is represented as raising a storm, and another as laying it. Were we only to consider the sublime in this piece of poetry, what can be nobler than the idea it gives us of the Supreme Being, thus raising a tumult among the elements, and recovering them out of their confusion, thus troubling and becalming nature?” — Spectator, Number 485.
ftd287 “hjlml, into saltness, or barrenness. The word has here the force of sterility. Pliny says, ‘Omnislocus in quo reperitursal, sterilis est, nihilque gignit.’ — Hist. Nat. Lib. 31, cap. 7. Allusion is here made to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, ‘The whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning; that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, which the Lord overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath,’ (Deuteronomy 29:23) The Chaldee has paraphrased the verse as follows: ‘The land of Israel which bore fruit he hath laid waste as
Sodom, which was overturned on account of the wickedness of its inhabitants.’” — Phillips.
ftd288 The words of this verse are found in Job 12:21, 24, from which they are supposed, with great probability, to have been borrowed.
ftd289 “Par angoisse de mal et par douleur.” — Fr.
ftd290 “Iniquity is here personified, and denotes the iniquitous; but the
abstract is more poetical.” — Dr Geddes.
ftd291 The same critic reads, “While all iniquity shall be tongue-tied.”
“Tongue tied,” says he, “literally mouth-shut: which perhaps might be not improperly vernacularised.”
ftd292 “Ou, mon duc.” — Fr. marg. “Or, my leader.”
ftd293 “The 108th psalm is altogether made up of extracts from the others;
its first part being identical (with the exceptions of a few slight variations) with the third division of the 57th; its second, with the second division of the 60th. And both these borrowed parts are discriminated, both in the 57th and 60th psalms, from the rest of the context by the word Selah. This is a remarkable fact, and illustrates strongly one of the functions of the Diapsalma. These parts were, then, to a certain degree, regarded as distinct compositions, which occasionally were disjointed from their original context; the very change of sentiment and strain, which originated the word Diapsalma, sanctioning such an occasional practice.” — Jebb’s Literal Version of the Book of Psalms, with Dissertations, volume 2, page 109.
ftd294 From the express application of a part of this awfully prophetic poem to Judas by the Apostle Peter, (Acts 1:20) we learn that the punishment and sufferings of that unhappy man form its subject. It has also been justly viewed as shadowing forth, not merely the fate of the wretched Iscariot, and his immediate associates, but the dreadful and justly-merited destiny of the Jewish polity and nation. “The first five verses of this psalm,” says Horsley, “clearly describe the treatment which our Lord met with from the Jews. The curses that follow as clearly describe the judgments which have fallen upon that miserable people. So that the whole is a prediction of his sufferings, and of their punishment, delivered in the form of complaint and imprecation.” Whatever, therefore, may be said as to the primary reference of the psalm to the lamentations and denunciations poured forth by David, in consequence of the perfidy and cruelty of some inveterate foe, Christ must be principally understood as the person who gives utterance to these lamentations and denunciations, occasioned by the injurious treatment he received from his betrayer and murderers. — See Appendix. ftd295 The Septuagint and Vulgate attach the same meaning to the Psalmist’s prayer. The reading of the former being, W Θεὸς τὴν αίνεσίν mou μὴ παρασιωπήσης, and that of the latter, “Deus, laudem meam ne tacueris,” O God! be not silent of my praise. The phrase, as it stands in the Hebrew text, is, however, capable of a double signification; for it may refer either to God’s praising David, or to David’s praising God. In the one case, it will intimate that God was the object of his praise; in which sense it is said, Deuteronomy 10:21, “He is thy praise, and He is thy God,” and will mean, Be not silent to refuse, neglect not my praising of thee. In the other sense the prayer is, as our author states, Whilst others reproach me, be not silent of my praise, be thou my advocate, plead my causes, proclaim and justify my innocence.
ftd296 “This expression,” says Hengstenberg, “finds its full truth in Christ. Christ’s love to man was daily manifested by his miraculous healing all the infirmities of the body, which was returned by man’s hatred of Him, as displayed in his general conduct.”
ftd297 In the Hebrew, the sentence is very short and imperfect, “But I prayer;” I am a man of prayer; or, I betake myself to prayer. Thus “I peace” is put for “I am for peace.” — <19C007>Psalm 120:7.
ftd298 “The spirit of prophecy is blended in a high degree with all the denunciations which follow, and which have relation to the impenitent Jews, and to the traitorous apostle.” — Morison. ftd299 “When his cause shall be examined, and when sentence shall be pronounced, let him, as the original signifies, go out guilty; in other words, let him be condemned; and when he pleads for a pardon, or for a mitigation of his sentence, let his petition, instead of receiving a favorable answer, be regarded as an aggravation of his crime.” — Morison. Horsley understands the last clause as referring to the Jewish worship, which, he affirms, is now become sin, as it contains a standing denial of our Lord. Fry admits that Horsley’s exposition of this line is ingenious. “But,” says he, “hlpt, [which Calvin renders prayer,] from its etymology, and from its usage, Job 16:17, may be understood to mean a judicial sentence, and the parallelism in this place strongly argues for such an interpretation. Let the decision on him be ‘Guilty.’” Accordingly, he reads, “On his trial let him come forth condemned, and let the decision be, For sin.”
ftd300 “His days shall be few. Hengstenberg says this word means few times, as if he considered it a substantive rather than an adjective; but it is doubtless an adjective belonging to wymy, (his days.) The expression denotes that the man here spoken of should not live to a full age, but should meet with a premature death, either violently by the hands of others or by his own, as was the case with Judas. An untimely death is often mentioned in the Old Testament as a punishment on men who are eminently guilty. ‘Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days,’ Psalm 55:23. See also Proverbs 10:27. This passage is applicable not to Judas only, but also to the Jews in general, for after the crucifixion of our Lord, their days were few; they were soon dispossessed of their country, and became the outcasts of the earth.” — Phillips. Horsley also explains this of the days of the Jewish commonwealth, which were very few after our Lord’s ascension; and the subsequent clause, “let another receive his office,” he understands as denoting that “the Christian Church is become the depository of revelation, which was the particular charge of the Jewish race.”
ftd301 “The 10th and 11th verses allude to the state of the Jews in their dispersion, having nowhere any settled home.” — Horsley. ftd302 Horsley reads this verse as follows: —
*“Let his children be mere vagabonds, and beg;* *Let them be driven out from the very ruins of their dwelling.”*
“For wçrdy,” says he, “the LXX. had wçrgy; ‘let them be driven out.’ This reading Houbigant and Archbishop Secker approve. The image is, vagabonds seeking a miserable shelter among the ruins of decayed and demolished buildings, and not suffered to remain even in such places undisturbed.”
ftd303 “Literally, ‘the lender’ or ‘creditor.’ But from the hard-heartedness of the Jews towards their debtors, of which we have instances in 2 Kings 4:1; Nehemiah 5:1-13; the word seems in latter times to have carried a bad sense; and so it is rendered in our translation, ‘the extortioner.’” — Mant. ftd304 “çqny shall catch, or secure. It seems to denote, to catch by laying snares. See Psalm 38:13. This sense suits very well this passage; for the usurer is accustomed to obtain the substance of men by all kinds of artifices.” — Phillips. Horsley renders, “draw his net over all that he hath.” How striking a representation of the treatment which the Jews, since the time of the last destruction of their city, and their dispersion by the Romans, have received from almost all nations among whom they have been scattered! For some time they have been permitted to live in Britain, Holland, and Germany, unmolested; but what a tale of misery does the tyrannical exactions of which they have been the prey for centuries constitute!
ftd305 Dr Geddes translates the 6th verse thus: —
*“May he be tried by a wicked judge;* *And at his right had be placed the accuser.”*
On which he has the following note: — “May he be tried by a wicked judge. He alludes to courts of judicature: and wishes that his enemy may have a severe, nay, wicked judge, — certainly one of the greatest curses that can befall one. — And at his right hand be placed the accuser. Instead of a friend or advocate to stand by him, let his only attendant be an accuser. What imagery this! But the height of the metaphor is in the next verse: —
*‘When he is judged, may he be found guilty:* *And may his deprecation only aggravate his crime.’”*
With this corresponds the interpretation of Phillips. With Hammond, he understands to set over as denoting to set over as a judge or inspector. “This notion of setting over,” he observes, “corresponds with the next member; for there it says, and an enemy shall stand at his right hand, which shows that the wicked man was to be appointed to act as a judge. The man at his right hand denotes an accuser, agreeably to the custom which prevailed in a Jewish court of justice, of placing the accuser at the right hand of the accused, (see Zechariah 3 1;) and hence we understand in this verse [çr to be mentioned as acting in the capacity of a judge, and ˆfr in that of an accuser.” Cresswell gives a similar explanation of the passage. Green, who follows Dr Sykes in thinking that the imprecations from this verse to verse 17 were pronounced not by David upon his enemies, but by David’s enemies upon him, reads the verse thus: — “Set a wicked man over him, say they, to hear his cause, and let a false accuser stand at his right hand.”
ftd306 “Paefecturam generaliter significat.” — Lat. “Signifie generallement Superintendence.” — Fr.
ftd307 “Quand il donne les biens en proye aux exacteurs.” — Fr. ftd308 “Tarnovius says, the passage treats not concerning all memory, but only of an honorable one.” Phillips. ftd309 “Et mesmes la calamite de quelqu’un amollit le ceur de celuy qui luy portoit haine.” — Fr.
ftd310 “Ut desperatos omnes male perdat.” — Lat. “Afin qu’il extermine tous ceux qui sont du tout desesperez.” — Fr.
ftd311 “This curse alludes to the imprecation by which the Jews ventured to take upon themselves the guilt of our Lord’s death, when Pilate pronounced him innocent. The blessing, ‘on which they set not their heart,’ was that which they might have obtained from our Lord.” — Horsley. ftd312 The Hebrew word for garment in this verse signifies, according to Parkhurst, “a long robe, a garment commensurate with the body.” See his Lexicon rm, 3. Horsley renders it, “a garment fitted to him,” which he takes to be the precise sense of wrm. The phrase in the following verse he renders, “as the close garment which wraps him.” In the second clause there is probably an allusion to the water of jealousy.
See Numbers 5:18. More forcible language than that of this and the subsequent verse could not be employed to convey the strength and perfection of that curse which fell on the Jewish nation; and the condition of that people, ever since their dispersion by the Romans, affords abundant evidence that the terms here made use of, strong as they are, to predict this condition, are but barely adequate to afford us a just notion of its sad reality. “The curse that lighted on the Jewish nation,” observes Bishop Horne, in illustration of this and the next verse, “is resembled, for its universality and adhesion, to a ‘garment’ which covereth the whole man, and is ‘girded’ close about his loins; for its diffusive and penetrating nature to ‘water,’ which from the stomach passeth into the ‘bowels,’ and is dispersed through all the vessels of the frame; and to ‘oil,’ which imperceptibly insinuates itself into the very ‘bones.’ When that unhappy multitude, assembled before Pontius Pilate, pronounced the words, ‘His blood be on us and on our children,’ then did they put on the envenomed garment, which has stuck to and tormented the nation ever since; then did they eagerly swallow down that deadly draught, the effects whereof have been the infatuation and misery of 1700 years.”
ftd313 Horsley translates, “I am just gone, like the shadow stretched to its utmost length.” The allusion is to the state of the shadows of terrestrial objects at sun-set, lengthening every instant, and growing faint as they lengthen, and in the instant that they shoot to an immeasurable length, disappearing. As a shadow, when it is extended by the sun’s setting, is approaching to evanescence, so, saith the speaker in this psalm, I am fast disappearing; that is, am approaching the end of mortal life.
ftd314 The Hebrew word for locust is in the singular number; but the Septuagint reads in the plural, and a plurality may be intended. Locusts are accustomed to fly in great numbers, and the swarms of them are sometimes so numerous in Eastern countries, that they fly in the air like a succession of clouds, forming enormous compact bodies. But when the wind blows briskly, locusts being weak and feeble creatures, these swarms are often tossed, broken into separate masses, thrown one upon another, and driven over the sea, into which they fall when no longer able to sustain their flight. — See Exodus 10:13,
19. So powerless was the speaker in this psalm before his persecuting enemies. He was driven by them from place to place, without the power to offer any resistance. Hammond, who considers the psalm as having been composed by David when forced to flee from Jerusalem by the rebellion of his son Absalom, after referring to this explanation of the metaphor, observes: “Another possible way there is of understanding the resemblance. The locust is but a large sort of grasshopper, which hath no set abiding-place or rest, but leaps to and fro, roves about the field: so we have the ‘running to and fro of locusts,’ Isaiah 33:4. And this uncertain, unsettled condition of those creatures, may be proper also to express David’s condition in his flight, when he had not where to lay his head, but wandered from place to place uncertainly. But the former, that is founded in the bands of locusts, is fitter to express David and the company with him, his weak fugitive army, than that which is founded in the manner of the single locust or grasshopper.”
ftd315 “En l’assemblee des grans.” — Fr. “In the assembly of the great.”
ftd316 “C’est, de ceux qui ont juge et condamne son ame a la mort.” — Fr.
marg. “That is, from those who have judged and condemned his soul to death.”
ftd317 In Matthew 22:42-45, Christ applies this portion of Scripture
to himself; and this application the Pharisees, before whom it was made, so far from disputing, at once admitted, as appears from their inability to answer our Lord’s question, which was founded upon it; for had the psalm been differently interpreted by any party among the Jews, the Pharisees would unquestionably have taken advantage of such diversity of opinion, to escape from the difficulty in which they were placed by the question addressed to them. The Messianic interpretation of this psalm is also supported by the testimony of the apostles. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews (Hebrews 1:13) quotes the first verse, to prove Christ’s superiority in dignity to angels, to whom Jehovah had never said, “Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” In Acts 2:34, 35, Peter quotes the same passage, as prophetical of Christ’s ascension into heaven. See also 1 Corinthians 15:25; Hebrews 7:17; Ephesians 1:20, etc. The psalm is thus beyond all controversy, a very clear prediction of the divinity, priesthood, victories, and triumph of the Messiah. We have so many Scriptural helps to its exposition, that we can be at no loss as to its meaning. Such also is the strength of the internal evidence, in support of its application to Christ, that although the Jews have taken a great deal of pains to wrest it to another sense, yet several of the Rabbins have been forced to acknowledge that it belongs to him.
ftd318 “Au temps d’assembler ton exercice.” — Fr.
ftd319 Calvin, in pointing this verse, has very properly placed the colon after holiness, and not after morning, as in our English Bible.
ftd320 “The LORD said unto my Lord. Heb., ‘Jehovah assuredly said unto my Adon,’ which last word is used for lord in every variety of rank, from the master of a family to the sovereign of an empire. In its origin, this title seems similar to the Italian cardinal, which means primarily a hinge, as Adon does a socket; hence figuratively applied to executive magistrates, on whom the government rests, and public affairs turn.” — Williams. ftd321 The expression is borrowed from the Eastern custom of conquerors putting their feet upon the necks of their enemies. See Joshua 10:24.
ftd322 “Until I make, etc. It is remarked by Genebrard, that the particle d[ is to be taken emphatically, as if it were equivalent to etiam donec, and signifies continuity; not the exception or exclusion of future times. Jehovah is, therefore, speaking in substance as follows: — ‘Reign with me even until I make thy enemies thy footstool; even at the time which seems opposed to thy kingdom, and when thy enemies appear to reign, that is, before I have prostrated thy enemies, and have caused them to make submission to thee. After this subjection of thy adversaries, it is unnecessary to say, Thou wilt continue to reign.’ If this be not the force of the passage, then we must suppose that the reign of Christ will cease when he has completely subjugated the world; which is contrary to what we are taught elsewhere in Scripture.
The particle is used in a similar manner in <19C303>Psalm 123:3; Deuteronomy 7:24.” — Phillips. ftd323 “The rod of thy strength, or the scepter of thy strength, i.e., thy powerful scepter, the scepter with which thou rulest thy powerful kingdom.” — Phillips. ftd324 “‘Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power.’ Voluntaries, a people of voluntarinesses or of liberalities, (as Psalm 68:10;) that is, shall most freely, willingly, and liberally present themselves and their oblations to thee, as Judges 5:9; Acts 11:41; Exodus 25:2; Romans 12:1; Psalm 47:10;
<19B9108>119:108; Song 6:11.” — Ainsworth. “twbdn is literally promptitudines, readinesses; so that the term being plural and abstract, may be regarded as highly emphatic, as if the Psalmist said, Thy people shall be very willing. This noun also signifies voluntary oblations. Thus Luther has rendered it by williglich opfern. In this sense it is found in many passages, as Exodus 35:29; 36:3; Deuteronomy 23:24, and several other places. It will be necessary, if this meaning be assigned to it here, to supply some such verb as ayby. The Psalmist, however, is evidently speaking of a battle, and, therefore, the admission of this meaning would be incongruous.” — Phillips. “Since an army,” says Rosenmüller, “is represented in this passage as called out to a warlike expedition, we cannot understand twbdn otherwise than as signifying a prompt and willing mind, in which sense we find it, Hosea 14:5, ultro, voluntarily, of his own accord, Psalm 51:14; Judges 5:2, 9.” — Messianic Psalms, Biblical Cabinet, volume 32, page 271.
ftd325 “I have rendered the words, dlyj µwyb, in the day of thy power; and I understand that day as referring to the time when, in consequence of Peter’s exhortation, three thousand persons made profession of the Christian faith.” — Dante on the Messianic Psalms, Biblical Cabinet, volume 32, page 318. With this corresponds the interpretation of Hammond: “The Messiah, in the former verses, is set upon his throne, for the exercise of his regal power, with a sword or scepter in his hand; and, as such, he is supposed to rule in the world, to go out to conquer and subdue all before him. The army which he makes use of to this end is the college of apostles, sent out to preach to all nations; and the time of their thus preaching is here called ˚lyj µwy ‘the day of his power’ or ‘forces,’ or ‘army.’” But Queen Elizabeth’s translators understood the phrase in the same sense as Calvin, rendering it, “The people shall come willingly at the time of assembling thine army.” In like manner, Rosemüller reads, “In the day of thy army; that is,” says he, “in the day when thou assemblest and leadest forth thine army. The word lyj, militia, is here used as in Deuteronomy 11:4; 2 Kings 6:15, signifying military forces.” — Ibid. volume 32, page 273.
ftd326 “Des la matrice, comme de, l’estoille du matin.” — Fr. “Out of the womb, as if from or out of the star of the morning.”
ftd327 “Among the earliest Greek writers, dew seems to have been a figurative expression for the young of any animal. Thus, drosov is used by Æschylus for an unfledged bird, (Agamemn. 145;) and eJrsh, by Homer, for a young lamb or kid, (Od. 1, 222.)” — Horsley. ftd328 “Qui ne se dit pas d’une personne seule, mais de quelque multitude et compagnie.” — Fr.
ftd329 The addition, “and will not repent,” is intended to indicate the absolute character of the oath, that it cannot be annulled or suspended in consequence of any altered circumstances; that no change of counsel or of conduct in the parties concerned shall cause any change in the divine purpose, so that it may be said, Jehovah repented, as he is said to have repented of creating man on observing the wickedness of the human race, (Genesis 6:6.) A similar form of expression is elsewhere employed to express the immutability of what God declares or swears, (Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29.)
ftd330 “ytrbd l[. Secundum meam constitutionem, (q. d.,) Not according to the Levitical order, but according to my appointment, the true Melchizedek. See Hebrews 7.” — Goode’s New Version of the Book of Psalms, with Notes. ftd331 “The Lord at thy right hand. In this psalm it is evident, verse 1, that hwhy is the title of God the Father, and so again, verse 4, and ynda of the Messiah God the Son, in respect of that dignity, and dominion, and regal power, to which he was to be exalted at his ascension, that ‘at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.’ This is expressed, verse 1, by his ‘sitting at God’s right hand,’ for which the Apostle, 1
Corinthians 15:25, reads, ‘it must be that he reign.’ By this it is evident that, in this verse, ‘The Lord at thy right hand,’ must be understood of the Messiah instated in his regal power at the right hand of his father, and not of the Father as his παραστάτης, to back and help him, as Psalm 16:8, and elsewhere, the phrase is used. For of the Son thus exalted we know it is that we read John 5:22, that ‘the Father has committed all judgment to the Son.’ Agreeable to which it is that this ‘Adonai,’ or ‘Lord at Jehovah’s right hand here, shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath;’ i.e., shall act revenges most severely on the opposers of his kingdom; which revenges, in the New Testament, are peculiarly attributed to Christ, and called ‘the coming of the Son of Man, coming in the clouds, coming with his angels, and the approaching or coming of his kingdom.’” — Hammond. In this 5th verse the Psalmist makes a sudden apostrophe to Jehovah. Horsley is much inclined to indulge in a conjecture, which Dr Kennicott, too, seems to have entertained, that the word hwhy, Jehovah, has been lost out of the text after the original word for at thy right hand; and that the passage should run thus: “The Lord at thy right hand, O Jehovah!”
ftd332 This opinion is held by Michaelis and Doederlein. But although a fearful carnage of God’s and his people’s enemies is sometimes poetically described by His arrows being made drunk with blood, Deuteronomy 32:42; and as producing a stream of blood, in which his people, victorious over them, might dip or wash their feet, as in Psalm 68:24; yet neither He nor they are said to drink such blood. There is a great difference between this latter and the two preceding metaphors; and we cannot think that the idea of drinking human blood, much less of making God drink it, would have entered the mind of any Israelite. The idea is abhorrent to human nature, and must have appeared particularly shocking to the Jews, who were strictly prohibited by the laws of Moses from eating even the blood of beasts.
ftd333 Similar is the opinion of Grotius. He regards the words as containing a description of a strenuous and active warrior, whom no obstacle can prevent from prosecuting victory with the utmost ardor; “Who,” to use his own language, “when pursuing the enemy, does not seek for places of entertainment, that he may refresh himself with wine, but is contented with water, which he takes hastily in passing; and whenever he can find it, not only from a river, but from a torrent.” “Schnurrer,” says Rosemüller, “seems to have perceived the true meaning of the verse, which he gives in the following words: — ‘Though fatigued with the slaughter of his enemies, yet will he not desist; but, having refreshed himself with water taken from the nearest stream, will exert his renovated strength in the pursuit of the routed foe.’” — Messianic Psalms, page 284.
ftd334 This and the subsequent psalms, to the 119th, are supposed to have been sung by the Jews at the celebration of the Passover; and the subject-matter of them was peculiarly adapted to such a purpose. “From the 111th to the 118th psalm, inclusive,” says Jebb, in his recent work on the Psalms, “we find very interesting marks of a ceremonial which, tradition asserts, was observed by the Jews at the eating of the Passover, namely, the singing of the Gospel Hallel — that hymn, in all likelihood, which our blessed Lord sang with his disciples after the Last Supper. Dr Lightfoot informs us that there is considerable discrepancy of opinion among the Jews as to what psalms constituted the Greater Hallel; the various opinions extending or contracting its range from the 113th to the 137th psalm. As usual, these traditions are uncertain and ill defined, and have more respect to the arbitrary dicta of the Rabbins than to the internal evidence of Holy Scripture. Let us now examine this evidence. In the first place, we are to remark, that all the psalms (except the 114th and 118th) which precede the 119th, have Hallelujah (that is, Praise ye the Lord) either prefixed or subjoined, or both, while those which are without this burden are in evident connection; the 119th as evidently beginning a new series. In the absence, then, of any consistent testimony, it seems fair to assume, that this group of psalms formed the Greater Hallel, the sentiment they contain being singularly applicable to the festival, — to the great deliverance from Egypt, which it celebrated, and to the second delivery from Babylon, which so strongly resembled it.
According to Dr Lightfoot, the 113th and 114th psalms were sung at one period of the feast, at the second cup; and after the fourth cup, the other psalms, namely, the 115th to the 118th, inclusive; and here the feast ordinarily ended. They thus held the place of grace before or after meat; and this division is very consistent, the latter psalms being more evidently Eucharistical.” — Jebb’s Literal Translation of the Book of Psalms, with Dissertations, volume 2, pages 269-271.
ftd335 “These two verses,” says Dr Geddes, “might just as well have made three, and then the whole of both psalms would be regular.” According to Jerome, this is the first psalm that is exactly alphabetical, the rest of this description, which precede it, being only nearly so.
ftd336 The Hebrew for Praise ye Jehovah is Hallelujah. This is probably the title, and no part of the psalm itself. The alphabetical construction of the poem seems to confirm this opinion. It is acrostic, and begins with aleph, and each succeeding hemistich commences with the other letters of the alphabet in order; but were Hallelujah, which begins with the fifth letter of the alphabet, answering to our H, the first word of the psalm, that would destroy its perfectly alphabetical character.
ftd337 “Aben Ezra and others think that hd[ is put in opposition to dws, which denotes a more secret assembly; and so the verse, they say, means, in substance, as follows: ‘I will praise the Lord with all my heart, both privately and publicly.’ This, however, I think can scarcely be the sense: it is much more likely that dws is here employed to express a congregation of Israelites; because the rest of the world was excluded from such assembly, and so far it partook of the character of private or secret. This is the view taken by Luther, whose paraphrase of this verse is as follows: ‘I thank the Lord here in this public assembly, where we (Israelites) meet one another as in private counsel, and where no heathen nor strangers can be present.’” — Phillips. ftd338 “hç[ rkz. He hath made a memorial for himself in his wonderful works. rkz, the same as ˆwrkz in Numbers 17:5. So the LXX., in Exodus 17:14, render rkz by όνομα, name; accordingly, hç[ rkz may signify, He hath made himself a name; i.e., His wonderful works will exist as memorials of his name.” — Phillips. ftd339 “Given meat — Heb., ‘Prey;’ i.e., food. Some think this refers to the manna rained upon Israel in the wilderness; we should rather think, to the quails. See <19A540>Psalm 105:40.” — Williams. “ãrf. This word is usually translated prey, and the passage is thought, by some, to refer to the spoiling of the Egyptians by the Israelites, mentioned in Exodus 12:36. It is, however, more probable that ãrf signifies here food, and that allusion is made to the manna with which the children of Israel were fed in the wilderness. See Proverbs 31:15; Malachi 3:10. The first hemistich is the consequence of what is stated in the second; i.e., because God remembered his covenant, therefore he gave food to them who fear him.” — Phillips. ftd340 “The beginning, — the word, so translated, also signifies the prime, the chief part, the perfection; a sense which it may very well bear in this place: comp. Deuteronomy 10:12; Job 28:28; Proverbs 1:7, 9:10” — Cresswell. “tyçar. this word may signify, the first in time, and so it may denote the foundation of any thing; hence the meaning of the Psalmist here is, that the foundation of all wisdom is the fear of the Lord. But tyçar has also the sense of being first in dignity, as well as in order of time; thus hmkj tyçar, wisdom is the chief thing, Proverbs 4:7. Here it may be understood in the same manner; i.e., the fear of the Lord is the chief wisdom.” — Phillips.
ftd341 This psalm is also acrostic or alphabetical; and the subject of it being only an enlargement upon the last verse of the preceding, as Muis and others have observed, the same author, it is not improbable, composed both.
ftd342 “In the earth, or rather, with Green, in the land: as it seems to mean the land of Israel, to which the promise of temporal blessings was limited.” — Dimock. ftd343 “Ou, il a fait reluire la lumiere.” — Fr. marg. “Or, he hath made light to arise or to shine.” There is here perhaps, as Horsley supposes, an allusion to what happened in Egypt, when the Israelites had light in all their dwellings, while the land was wrapt in darkness. “The first hemistich,” says Phillips, “is figurative. Trouble is represented by ˚çj, darkness; and health or prosperity by rwa, light. A pious man shall be found to enjoy prosperity, even when troubles come upon the rest of the world; in such a period of general darkness there shall spring up a light to the upright; viz., Jehovah himself, who is gracious, and merciful, and just. The first two epithets of the second member are found, in <19B104>Psalm 111:4, applied to God.”
ftd344 “Ou, bien sera a l’homme qui.” — Fr. marg. “Or, it shall be well with the man who.” With this corresponds the translation of Archbishop Secker, which is, “Happy is the man who,” etc. In proof that bwf signifies happy, he refers to Isaiah 3:10; Jeremiah 44:17; Lamentations 4:9.
ftd345 “Until. This is not to be taken as if his freedom from fear would continue no longer, but is to be extended to all future times.” Walford. ftd346 “His desire is a supplement made in the French version, but not in the Latin; and, if it is admitted, we must be careful not to understand it as implying any thing like revenge. The good man has enemies of various kinds. Worldly and wicked men are often his enemies. But he does not desire their destruction; for this would be utterly inconsistent with the Christian spirit. According to Hammond, the supplement is unnecessary. His reading is, “He shall behold or look upon his oppressors or distressers;” which he explains thus, “He shall behold them securely, confidently look in their faces, as we say, as being now no longer under their power, being freed from their tyranny and pressures.” In Psalm 54:7, we meet with a similar expression, which see explained, in reference to David’s circumstances at that time, in volume 2, page 324, note. It is used again in Psalm 59:11, “God shall let me see or look on mine enemies;” in Psalm 92:11, “Mine eye hath looked on mine enemies, and mine ear hath heard of them that rise up against me,” that is, hath seen and heard of their destruction; and in <19B807>Psalm 118:7, “I shall look upon my haters,” that is, having God for my helper, I shall without fear look upon them.
ftd347 It is so translated in some of the ancient versions, and by several critics. In the Syriac it is, “will support his words in judgment;” i.e., will never utter any thing but what is strictly true. In like manner,
Cocceius. In the Arabic, which is followed by Castalio, it is, “will moderate his words in judgment;” i.e., will speak as favourably of delinquents as he can consistently with truth, contrary to the practice of the wicked. — Psalm 94:21.
ftd348 “Neque ferrei sunt neque stipites.” — Lat. “Ils ne sont point de fer,
ne semblables a des souches.” — Fr. “They are not of iron, nor do they resemble blocks.”
ftd349 “µmnw, And shall melt away. Root ssm. It is said to denote the total destruction of any thing by the process of melting The verb is employed by way of figure, to express the annihilation of the wicked, in Psalm 68:3.” — Phillips. ftd350 “The wicked shall see it; i.e., the exalted horn.” — Dimock ftd351 “Et par une envie qu’ils auront les fera mourir a petit feu.” — Fr.
ftd352 This interesting little ode, which is alike elegant in its structure, and devotional in its sentiment, its theme being the celebration of Jehovah’s power, glory, and mercy, is thought by Bishop Patrick to be the commencement of what the Hebrews called the Great Hallel or Hymns, which they recited at their tables in the new moons and other feasts, especially in the paschal night, after they had eaten the lamb. He supposes that the Great Hallel included this and the five following psalms. See page 310. “It is very uncertain who was the author of this psalm; but as the 7th and 8th verses are manifestly taken from 1 Samuel 2:8, and the 9th probably alludes to the history of
Hannah, it might be composed by Samuel or David, who were so nearly interested in the signal mercies vouchsafed to her.” — Dimock. ftd353 “Lowth translates rightly after Hare: —
*‘Who is like Jehovah our God?*
*Who dwelleth high,*
*Who looketh low;* *In heaven and on earth.’*
He refers to the same structure, Cant. 1, 5. For the first part, see Jeremiah 49:8; and for the whole, see <19D806>Psalm 138:6;
Isaiah 57:15.” — Archbishop Secker in Merrick’s Annotations on the Psalms. Lowth observes that the last member is to be divided, and assigned in its two divisions to the two preceding members, as if it were, “Who dwelleth high in heaven, and looketh low on earth.”
ftd354 The words, Praise ye Jehovah, at the end of the psalm, are, in the
Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac, Arabic, and Æthiopic versions, and in a very ancient manuscript, placed at the head of next psalm, where, perhaps, they formerly stood as the title.
ftd355 “The exodus of Israel from Egypt, with some of its most remarkable
accompanying and consequent miracles, are, in this brief psalm, commemorated in the boldest style of poetry, with personifications, indeed, of inanimate nature of the utmost daring and sublimity, in ‘thoughts that breathe, and words that burn.’” — Drake’s Harp of Judah.
ftd356 The word z[l, loez, which Calvin renders, a barbarous people, is translated, in our English Bible, “a people of strange language.” His version is supported by many authorities. The word is frequently found, in the sense he attaches to it, in Rabbinical works, and is so understood here by the Chaldee paraphrast, who has yarbrb, and by the LXX., who have βαρβάρου. The root of these terms, as well as the Latin word for barbarous, is probably the Hebrew rb, out, or without, redoubled; and so it signifies, to a Jew, any man of another nation. According to Parkhurst, the word, instead of signifying a barbarous or foreign language or pronunciation, seems rather to refer to the violence of the Egyptians towards the Israelites, or the barbarity of their behavior, which, he observes, was more to the Psalmist’s purpose than the barbarity of their language, even supposing the reality of the latter in the time of Moses. — See his Lexicon on z[l. Horsley reads, “a tyrannical people.”
ftd357 “There is a peculiar beauty in the conduct of this psalm, in that the author utterly conceals the presence of God in the beginning of it, and rather lets a possessive pronoun (i.e. His) go without a substantive, than he will so much as mention any thing of Divinity there; because, if God had appeared before, there could be no wonder why the mountains should leap, and the sea retire; therefore, that this convulsion of nature may be brought in with due surprise, his name is not mentioned till afterwards, and then, with a very agreeable turn of thought, God is introduced at once with all majesty.” — Spectator, volume 6, No. 461. If, however, the last two words of the preceding psalm, hyAwllh, Halelu-yah, Praise ye Jehovah, are the title to this psalm, the antecedent to his is supplied.
ftd358 In the Hebrew there is no pronoun after saw; nor is any inserted in the Septuagint and Arabic versions, or in the Chaldee. In our English Bible, it is inserted, and him in the Syriac version; but the sentence is certainly much more sublime without any such supplement.
ftd359 “Judah represents here the whole people of Israel, as Joseph does, in
Psalm 81:6. The reason assigned by Kimchi for this use of hdwhy here is, that at the time of the departure from Egypt, Judah was considered the head or chief of the tribes; see Genesis 49:810. This, however, is mere conjecture. If it be necessary to assign reasons for the distinction here conferred on this tribe, I should mention as one:, that the ark was kept in the region occupied by the descendants of Judah, and, as another, that from him the Messiah was to spring.” — Phillips. ftd360 God’s holiness being often taken for the keeping his promise sacred or inviolate, as in <19A209>Psalm 102:9, when, reference being made to the immutability of his covenant, it is added, “holy [as in another respect, reverend] is his name;” some, as Hammond and Cresswell, suppose that the meaning here is, that God’s dealings towards Judah — the people of the Jews, were a demonstration of his faithfulness in performing his promise made to Abraham long before.
ftd361 Hammond reads, “And Israel his power,” by which he understands that Israel was an instance of his power; that God, in his acting for Israel, declared his omnipotence most signally.
ftd362 Street reads, “The earth was in pain.” “All the ancient versions,” says he, “have the preterperfect here. The Targum alone agrees with the present reading, if, indeed, that be an imperative mood. For I do not see why ylwj may not be a participle passive with an yod added to it, as ykphh may be a participle active with the same addition.”
ftd363 Hammond reads, “into a lake of water.” “The µga µym,” he observes, “is best rendered a lake of water, to note the abundance of it; accordingly, the Chaldee renders it htyral, into a river: and so the Psalmist expressly describes the ‘gushing out of the waters from the rock,’ that ‘they ran in dry places like a river,’ <19A541>Psalm 105:41.”
ftd364 “The divine poet represents the very substance of the rock as being converted into water, not literally, but poetically — that is ornamenting his sketch of the wondrous power displayed on this occasion.” — Walford.
ftd365 “As the former psalm ended abruptly, and this is connected with it by the Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac, Arabic, Æthiopic, with nineteen MSS.; and as the following ejaculations so naturally arise from the consideration of the wonderful works of Jehovah just before recited, Lorinus’s opinion, that it is only a continuation of the former, is not improbable. Patrick refers it to 2 Chronicles 20:2. Some suppose it to be written by Moses at the Red Sea. Others, by David in the beginning of his reign. Others, by Mordecai and Esther. Others, by the three children in the fiery furnace. Perhaps by Hezekiah, or some one in the Babylonish captivity. — See <19B401>Psalm 114:1.” — Dimoch. “There is nothing certain,” observes Walford, “to be concluded respecting the author of this psalm, or the occasion on which it was written. It is conjectured, however, to belong to the time of Hezekiah, and to have been composed in celebration of the very extraordinary deliverance which was afforded to that pious prince, and to his people, from the blasphemies and arrogance of Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, 2 Chronicles 32; Isaiah 36:37. Whether this conjecture be agreeable to the truth, we are unable to say, though a considerable probability that it is so, arises from the language of the psalm itself.”
ftd366 “Our God, says he, is in heaven, as much as to say, that yours are not. The verse may be also regarded as a response to the question of the heathen, Where is now their God? Such a response was calculated to fortify the minds of the pious worshippers of Jehovah, against the ridicule which was heaped upon them by their idolatrous neighbors.” — Phillips. ftd367 Hammond reads the last clause, “neither breathe, or murmur, they through their throats.” “What wghy here signifies,” says he, “will be concluded by the context which immediately before had mentioned their having mouths and not speaking. Here, therefore, (as there the proper action of the mouth was speech,) the proper action of the throat or larynx seems to be intended, and that is to breathe. So when, Psalm 90:9, he saith, ‘We consume our days, hgh wmk, the
Targum reads, amwp lbh ˚yh, ‘as a vapor,’ i.e., ‘breath of the mouth in winter.’ If this is not the sense, then certainly it is an inarticulate sound, contradistinct from speaking. So Kimchi and Aben Ezra state it, and quote Isaiah 38:14, where the word is applied to the murmuring of the dove.”
ftd368 “Car que vouloit dire ceste facon de parler dont usoyent les anciens Romains, faire oraison deuant les dieux sinon qu’ils estimoyent que les idoles estoyent comme les representations des dieux?” — Fr.
ftd369 But though these images might, at first, be intended merely to bring the real Deity before the senses, and thus to impress the mind the more deeply with sentiments of awe and devotion, yet in process of time they began to be considered, especially by the ignorant multitude, as being really gods.
ftd370 The heathen not only considered their idols or images as representing their gods, but believed that, when consecrated by their priests, they were thereby animated by the gods whom they represented, and hence were worshipped as such. “Augustine (De Civitate Dei, B. 8, c. 23) tells us of the theology of the heathen, received from Trismegistus, that statues were the bodies of their gods, which, by some magical ceremonies, or θεουργίαι, were forced to join themselves as souls, and so animate and enliven those dead organs, to assume and inhabit them. And so Proclus (De Sacrif et Mag.) mentions it as the common opinion of the Gentiles, that the ‘gods were, by their favor and help, present in their images;’ and, therefore, the Tyrians, fearing that Apollo would forsake them, bound his image with golden chains, supposing then the god could not depart from them. The like did the Athenians imagine when they clipped the wings of the image of Victory; and the Sicilians, in Cicero, (De Divin.) who complain that they had no gods in their island, because Verres, Praetor in Sicily, had taken away all their statues. And so we know Laban, when he had lost his Teraphim, tells Jacob, (Genesis 31:30,) ‘that he had stolen his gods;’ and so of the golden calf, after the feasts of consecration, proclamation is made before it, ‘These be thy gods, O Israel!’ But this of the animation and inspiriting of images, by their rites of consecration, being but a deception and fiction of their priests, the Psalmist here discovers it, and assures all men that they are as inanimate and senseless after the consecration as before; base silver and gold, with images of mouths and ears, etc., but without any power to use any of them, and, consequently, most unable to hear or help their votaries.” — Hammond.
ftd371 Many interpreters translate the verb trust, which occurs here and in the next two verses, in the indicative mood, “Israel trusteth in Jehovah,” etc.; judging this to be more agreeable to the occasion than the imperative, which is found in the present copies of the Hebrew text. This emendation is supported by all the ancient versions.
ftd372 “Nulla enim musca est, nullus pediculus cui domicilium non praebeat terra.” — Lat.
ftd373 Thus the present text of Scripture, and others of a similar kind, as Psalm 6:6; 30:10; 88:11; and Isaiah 38:18, 19, are not to be understood as implying that the Hebrews of those times had no idea of a future state of existence beyond death and the grave. Such an interpretation would be at variance with many passages of the Old Testament, as Psalm 16:10; 49:15; 73:24; Proverbs 14:32; Ecclesiastes 8:11-13; 11:9; 12:14; with the most explicit declarations of the New, as to the possession of this knowledge by the ancient Hebrews, Hebrews 11; Luke 20:37; and with what might reasonably be supposed of persons who were favored with a supernatural revelation, and who enjoyed special intercourse with God, but who, had they been ignorant of a future state, knew less on this subject than Pagan writers, many of whom anticipated such a state in which virtue would receive its appropriate reward. In such passages the sensible appearances occasioned by death, and these alone, are represented. As to the eye of sense, nothing appears in the victim of death but inactivity, silence, decay, and corruption, the sacred writers seize upon these concomitants of that solemn and affecting event to add to the force of the argument which they are prosecuting.
ftd374 This psalm is without a title in the Hebrew, although the LXX. Have prefixed to it Hallelujah, with which Psalm 115 ends. There have been various conjectures among interpreters as to its author. Some ascribe it to Hezekiah, and suppose it to relate to his recovery from the dangerous sickness recorded in Isaiah 38. Others think that it was composed by David upon his deliverance from the rebellion excited by his son Absalom, after which he immediately had liberty to return to the sanctuary and public assembly at Jerusalem, verses 14, 18, and 19. This opinion is confirmed from verse 11, in which he speaks of having for a time, under the sad experience of human treachery and deception, pronounced all men to be liars; a state of feeling more applicable to David’s distressed circumstances during the rebellion of his son, than to Hezekiah on his recovery from sickness.
ftd375 The root of the Hebrew word ylbj, cheblei, here rendered snares,
“is lbj, which signifies to bind, and in Piel conj., to pain, or torment. Geseius, in his Thesaurus, under lbj, says: — ‘Pi. i. q. Kal, No. 1, torsit, inde cum tormentis et doloribus enixa est.’ lbj consequently signifies pain, or cable. It would seem from the verb to which it is a subject, that the latter is the more suitable sense, whilst the parallelism is in favor of the former. The former, however, is here contained in the latter, for the expression twm ylbj alludes to the custom of binding the victims for slaughter, or malefactors when taken to the place of execution; which binding was productive of great pain.” — Phillips.
See volume 1, page 264. Cresswell reads, “The straits of the grave, that is, the terrors of instant death, had found me.”
ftd376 “ — ‘compassed me.’ The original word ãpa expresses the repetition of the encircling of the toils. They surrounded him again and again.” — Horsley. ftd377 Fry’s translation of this clause is: —
*“The nets of Hades had caught hold upon me;”*
on which he has the following note: — “Or, according to the usual meaning of rwx and rrx, ‘the pangs or pains of hell.’ It is not impossible, indeed, that it should be derived from rxn; we might then render, ‘The purveyors of Hades had found me:’ and the imagery, at any rate, seems to be taken from the toils of the hunter. Michaelis would read ydwxm, ‘nets,’ instead of yrwxm, pangs; but it is very probable that, without any change, yrwxm signifies some part of the apparatus of hunting. ‘rxm a strait, distress, angustia.’ <19B805>Psalm 118:5; 116:3; Lamentations 1:3. In which last text, Mr Lowth says that ‘there is a metaphor from those that hunt a prey, which they drive into some strait and narrow passage, from whence there is no making an escape.’”
ftd378 This rendering of the LXX. also suggests the idea of weakness, which Fry has adopted, who reads, “Jehovah preserveth the weak.” “The usual meaning of µyatp,” says he, “is simplices, fatui, persuasu faciles; but I believe the Septuagint has preserved the true meaning of the passage, Φυλάσσων τὰ νήπια ὁ kuriov. The leading idea of htp is laxity or yielding, and may as well apply to the weakness of the body, or of the faculties of the mind, under the pressure of grief and pain, as to the relaxing of the powers of the understanding, in yielding to the seductions of folly or vice.”
ftd379 “‘I believed, therefore have I spoken;’ I firmly believe what I say, therefore I make no scruple of saying it. This should be connected with the preceding verse, and the full stop should be placed at ‘spoken.’” — Horsley. ftd380 Horsley’s version of this verse is as follows: “‘In an ecstasy of despair, I said, the whole race of man is a delusion.’ ‘A delusion,’ a lie, a cheat, a thing of nothing, made to no purpose. So Mudge understands this latter part. He judiciously observes, that the prefixed h necessarily determines the phrase, µdah lk, to the collective sense of the whole race. Every man, or all men, should be µda lk, without h.” Fry similarly translates, “The entire of the manhood is a lie; or,” he observes, “(as the word we render lie signifies,) a thing failing and disappointing the hopes built upon it.”
ftd381 “C’est, des deliverances.” — Fr. marg. “That is, of deliverances.”
ftd382 That there is here an allusion to the cup of wine drunk in the offering of eucharistical sacrifices is very generally admitted by commentators. During the feast that followed these sacrifices, the master of the family took a cup of wine into his hands, and after solemnly giving thanks to God for the mercies experienced, first drank of it himself, and then delivered it to all present to be partaken of in rotation. “The cup here spoken of by the Psalmist,” says Cresswell, “was probably used by the master of a Hebrew family at an entertainment in his own house, at which the remainder of the victims was eaten, after he had offered (Leviticus 7:11, etc.) the sacrifice of a peace-offering for a thanksgiving; when, lifting up the cup of wine in his hand, he called upon the name of the Lord, giving him thanks. The modern Jews are said to use a similar ceremony every year in commemoration of the deliverance of their ancestors from the bondage of Egypt.” Some, indeed, deny that there is any allusion to such eucharistical sacrifices, as Hengstenberg, who observes, that this communion cup is a mere fiction. In the institution of the festival offerings, nothing is indeed said of the cup; but we know from Matthew 26:29, 30, that in the feast of the Passover, for instance, the drinking of a cup of wine and the singing of a hymn were parts of the observance. From Jewish tradition we also learn that such was the ancient practice. See Lightfoot’s Horae Hebraicae on Matthew 26. Our Lord, apparently in imitation of the Jewish custom, as the head of the family, at the feast of the Passover, “took the cup, and gave thanks,” (Luke 22:17.) In allusion to this custom, Paul calls the communion cup in the Lord’s Supper “the cup of blessing,” (1 Corinthians 10:16.) The Psalmist, then, here intimates his intention of publicly yielding thanks to God for the mercies bestowed upon him.
There was a libation of wine enjoined by the Mosaic law to be made in the
temple every morning and evening for a drink-offering, (Numbers 28:7,) to which some suppose there is here a reference, observing, that the three last verses seem to intimate, that the Psalmist was now at the temple, offering the meat-offering, drinkoffering, and sacrifices, to the Lord.
ftd383 “This seems to mean the sacrifice prescribed, Leviticus 7:12,
because the courts of the Lord’s house are mentioned. Psalm 50:23, and 56:12, perhaps mean only thanksgiving, as Psalm 69:30, certainly doth. See verse 31.” — Archbishop Secker.
ftd384 “For their death to be precious is, in effect, no more than that it is, so considered, rated at so high a price by God, as that he will not easily grant it to any one that most desires it of him. Absalom here hostilely pursued David and desired his death, he would have been highly gratified with it, taking it for the greatest boon that could have befallen him: but God would not thus gratify him; nor will he grant this desire easily to the enemies of godly men, especially of those that commit themselves to his keeping, as David here did.” — Hammond.
ftd385 “That all the nations here, and in the next word all peoples, signify, in the greatest latitude, all the nations, all people of the Gentile world, even πᾶσαν κτίσιν, ‘the whole creation,’ and κόσμον a[panta, ‘the whole world,’ Mark 16:15, appears both by Matthew 28:19, where, parallel to those phrases in St Mark, is no more than πάντα τὰ έθνη, ‘all the nations,’ as here; but especially by Romans 15, where, for a proof of God’s purpose that the Gentiles should be received into the Church, and join with the believing Jews in one concert of Christian love and faith, and praise God together in the same congregation, the proof is brought, as from several other texts, so from these words in this psalm. And this not only by expressly citing, verse 1, ‘And again praise the Lord, all ye nations, and laud him, all ye people;’ but also in the front of the testimonies, by the phrases, ‘for the truth of God,’ verse 8, ‘for the mercy or pity of God,’ verse 9, both which are here mentioned, verse 2.” — Hammond. ftd386 “Ou, multipliee.” — Fr. marg. “Or, multiplied.”
ftd387 Calvin ascribes this psalm to David; but, as it is without any title, it is uncertain who was its author. On this point, and the occasion of its composition, various opinions prevail among commentators. According to Hengstenberg, it celebrates the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, and the laying the foundation of the second temple; in support of which he refers to Ezra 3:11. Phillips thinks it “probable that it was written for the occasion when David was to be anointed at Hebron king over the tribes of Israel, (2 Samuel 5;) for, previously to his inauguration, he was subjected to many dangers, both from avowed foes, as well as from Saul and his party. He was exposed to the hostility of the Philistines (1 Samuel 29,) and the Amalekites, (1 Samuel 30;) from the former he escaped in safety, and the latter he overcame in battle. Again, although he had been long chosen king of Israel by God, for a considerable period he was exposed to a severe persecution; he was obliged to flee for safety from his country, and it was not till after the death of Saul that his troubles ceased, and he ascended the throne, which had long been his by Divine appointment. To David, therefore, at Hebron, this psalm will apply; for he could then say, ‘All nations compassed me about. The Lord hath chastised me, but he hath not given me over unto death. The stone which the builders refused is become the head-stone of the corner. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.’” Some assign it to the time of Hezekiah; and others to that period of Israel’s history, which is adorned by the illustrious achievements of the Maccabees. “I shall not presume,” says Walford, “to decide which of these opinions is the most agreeable to truth. It will be more to our purpose to observe, that the psalm was read on occasion of a solemn procession that was formed by the king or chief magistrate, whoever he might be, the priests and the people at large, of all ranks, in order to perform public sacrifices of thanksgiving at the temple.”
ftd388 Horsley very properly translates the Hebrew word an, na, in this and the two following verses, by O, instead of now: — “O, Let Israel say — O, Let the house of Aaron say — O, Let them that fear Jehovah say.” “The word now,” he observes, “in our language is a particle of entreaty, and is therefore used by our translators to express the supplicatory particle of the Hebrew language, an. But though now, in our language, is indeed a particle of entreaty, it is only when the verb is in the imperative mood, and in the second person; as, ‘Do, now, grant me this favor;’ or, at least, in speaking to the person of whom the thing is asked. When an is joined to a verb in the third person, or when the person who is to grant the petition, or perform the thing advised, is not immediately addressed, it should be rendered by some other word or phrase. ‘By all means,’ or ‘of all things,’ are equivalent phrases, in respect of the sense, but not sufficiently dignified to suit the style of sacred poetry. O is perhaps the best particle, in these cases, that our language furnishes.”
ftd389 The verb wk[d, doachu, here used has ordinarily the signification of to quench. But in this text it is rendered in all the old versions in the sense of to burn. “This makes it probable,” says Hammond, “that as many other words in the Hebrew language are used in contrary senses, so ˚[d, which signifies in other places passively to be consumed, or extinguished, may signify here as an ἐναντιόσημον to flame, or in an active sense, as in Arabic it is used, violently to break in or set upon, as in war or contention when men violently rush one on another.” And this seems most suitable to the connection in which it stands. At first sight one would think it strange to say that the adversaries of David were quenched (i.e., destroyed) as the fire of thorns; and for the Psalmist afterwards to state, In the name of the Lord I will surely cut them off. If the verb is here interpreted in the sense of to burn, the main object of the metaphor must be to express, by a figure frequently employed in Scripture, the impotence and quick termination of the rage of those men, however fierce and apparently formidable. It would soon expend itself, and their power of doing injury be lost like a fire of thorns, which, although for a moment it makes a great crackling, and rages violently as if it would quickly consume every thing near, soon ceases, and nothing remains but the ashes. If the verb is understood in the sense of to quench, the language is very elliptical, and in the true genius of Hebrew poetry, which frequently couches in a few words such images as in the hands of Homer would be materials for an enlarged and dignified description, while it leaves unexpressed more than half of what is intended to be understood. The sudden quenching of the hostile army, like the extinction of a fire of thorns, implies the previous comparison of such array to a fire. “It is remarkable that, in a similar connection, Homer has such a comparison of an hostile army to fire, in which he expresses what David left to be understood, and omits (for he had no occasion to introduce) what David expresses, namely, the sudden quenching of the fire: —
*‘As when devouring flames some forest seize* *On the high mountains, splendid from afar* *The blaze appears, so, moving in the plain,* *The steel-clad host innum’rous flash’d to heav’n.’* Iliad *2, 516.* Cowper.*”*
— Illustrated Commentary upon the Bible. ftd390 Hammond reads, “Thou hast thrust sore at me to ruin or filling.” “The full import of lpnl,” says he, “is best expressed gerundially, ad cadendum, to falling, not only to express their desire who thus pressed and thrust at him, that he might fall, for that is supposed in the violence of their impulsion, expressed by repetition of the verb hjd yntyjd, thou hast by thrusting thrust me, but to signify the event or success of it, that I was falling, or ready to fall. Tou πεσεῖν, say the LXX. in the infinitive mood gerundially, and so the Chaldee and the Syriac; and so the Jewish Arab, ‘It is a long while that thou hast driven or thrust me to falling.’ And this expresses the greatness and seasonableness of the deliverance, that when he was falling, God helped him.”
ftd391 “I take yk to be an affirmative adverb, surely, and not a conjunction.” — Lowth. ftd392 The gates of the temple, or doors of the tabernacle, are supposed to have been called the gates of righteousness, because they were intended for the reception of those only who were righteous.
ftd393 The learned Michaelis understands this literally. “It appears,” says he, “that, probably at the building of Solomon’s temple, one of those stones, which David had taken care to get provided and made ready for use, was found faith with by the builders, and declared to be useless, and that God, for altogether different reasons, commanded by a prophet that this stone should be made the corner-stone. The Orientals regard the corner-stone as the one peculiarly holy stone in a temple, and that it confers sanctity upon the whole edifice. It is, therefore, the more probable that, either by the Urim and Thummim, (the sacred lot of the Jews,) or by a prophet, God was consulted which stone he would direct to be taken for the corner-stone. The answer was, that which they have perseveringly rejected, and declared to be quite unserviceable. Certainly it must have been for a very important reason, that God positively appointed this stone to be the corner-stone. But the New Testament declares it to us in Matthew 21:42; Acts 4:11; and 1 Peter 2:7. The Jewish nation would conduct themselves towards the Messiah precisely as the builders did towards this stone, and would reject him; but God would select him to be the corner-stone, which should support and sanctify the whole Church.” — Quoted in Dr Pye Smith on the Priesthood of Christ, page 150. Michaelis’ opinion, that the words literally relate to a stone which the builders at first rejected, but which they were subsequently induced to place in the most important part of the building, is, however, mere conjecture. The prophetic sense in which this verse is applicable to the Messiah, who was rejected by the chief priests, elders, and Pharisees of his time, and who is now the foundation of an ample and constantly increasing Church, rests on more solid grounds; being sanctioned both by Christ himself and his apostles.
The head stone of the corner does not mean the top stone, but the chief stone of the foundation, answering to what we call the first stone. — See Ephesians 2:20, 21; 1 Peter 2:4, 5.
ftd394 “Yea even unto the horns of the altar — before these words must be understood lead it: for the victims were bound to rings fixed in the floor. The horns were architectural ornaments, a kind of capitals, made of iron or of brass, somewhat in the form of the carved horns of an animal, projecting from the four angles of the altar. The officiating priest, when he prayed, placed his hands on them, and sometimes sprinkled them with the blood of the sacrifice: comp. Exodus 30:3; Leviticus 4:7, 18. At the end of this verse, the word saying must be supplied.” — Cresswell.
ftd395 It is, however, a mistake to suppose, that no connection of thought is
observed throughout this lengthened composition, as has sometimes been asserted even by writers of note. “It has been too commonly assumed,” says Jebb, that the 119th psalm is a collection of unconnected thoughts. To this opinion, even that most profound religious philosopher, Dr Barrow, inclines, (Sermon 48, on <19B960>Psalm 119:60;) and his eloquent words must, in this instance, be received with no small caution. ‘this psalm,’ he says, ‘no less excellent in virtue than large in bulk, containeth manifold reflections on the nature, the properties, the adjuncts, and effects of God’s law; many sprightly ejaculations about it, conceived in different forms of speech; some in way of petition, some of thanksgiving, some of resolution, some of assertion or aphorism; many useful directions many zealous exhortations to the observance of it; the which are not ranged in any strict order, but, like a variety of wholesome herbs in a fair field, do, with a grateful confusion, lie dispersed, as they freely did spring in the heart, or were suggested by the devout spirit of him who indicted this psalm; where no coherence of sentences being designed, we may consider any one of them absolutely or singly by itself.’ The fine imagination of this eminent writer justly recognizes the beautiful variety, the variegations of thought, the πολυποίκιλος σοφία exhibited in this psalm; but too much seems to be conceded to the prevalent opinion of a want of connection. I willingly allow, that the sentiments are not limited and enthralled by any exact or Procrustean rule; that there are no measures of intellectual geometry adhered to, reducing this divine poem to a rigid didactic system: that the mind of the prophet is free, and flowing, and discursive. Still this very flow of thought implies connection and association, and forbids the frigid idea that the psalm is a mere canto of reflections, like Lord Bacon’s collection of aphorisms, or the maxims of Isocrates. I do not intend to maintain what could not be proved, that a consecutive order can be traced throughout; but instances can, undoubtedly, be drawn of passages which maintan a beautiful sequence and connection between
their several members.” — Jebb’s Literal Translation of the Book of Psalms, with Dissertations, volume 2, pages 274-276.
ftd396 “Vel, perfecti.” — Lat. marg. “Or, perfect.”
ftd397 dam, meod, superlatively, — to the uttermost.
ftd398 Hammond reads, “O forsake me not to any great degree;” and adds, “The Hebrew damAd[, ad meod, here, and in verse 43, is literally unto very much. So the LXX. render it, e[wv σφόδρα, i.e., to any high degree, the Chaldee, ‘unto all at once,’ but the Syriac, for ever, both referring it to the time, whereas the Hebrew seems rather to the degree, from the noun that signifies multitude, plenty, abundance.”
ftd399 Some consider this psalm, as well as all the other alphabetic psalms, to be much more modern compositions than the time of David, and refer it to the time of the captivity in Babylon. But many others, as Venema, Michaelis, etc., ascribe it to David, and suppose it to have been written before his elevation to the throne. Its contents, certainly, favor this latter opinion, seeming to accord so well with the long and harassing persecution to which he was subjected by the malice and revenge of Saul. If David was its author, it is the most artificial and operose in its composition of all his psalms, and he has exhibited in the treatment of his subject — which is the celebration of the perfection of God’s law, and the happiness of those who obey it — an extraordinary fecundity of expression, as if one of his intentions had been to show in how many various shapes, and with what copiousness of words, he could enunciate and illustrate a few and the same topics. The aspirations for instruction, consolation, and protection, with which almost every portion of this psalm is mingled, have a soothing and delightful effect, whilst the language throughout is rendered impressive by its peculiar strength and concinnity. It may, however, be doubtful, whether it be just to elevate it, as has been done by some, above all the other psalms. Dr Adam Clarke justly remarks, “Like all other portions of divine revelation, it is elegant, important, and useful; and while I admire the fecundity of the Psalmist’s genius, the unabating flow of his poetic vein, his numerous synonymes, and his copia verborum, by which he is enabled to expound, diversify, and illustrate the same idea: presenting it to his reader in all possible points of view, so as to render it pleasing, instructive, and impressive; I cannot rob the rest of the book of its just praise by setting this, as many have done, above all the pieces it contains. It is by far the longest, the most artificial, and most diversified, yet, in proportion to its length, it contains the fewest ideas of any in the book.”
ftd400 Others deny that these and other similar terms, which frequently occur in this psalm, are mere synonymes; and they have endeavoured to show from etymological investigation, that, although all of them designate the law, yet they present it under a different aspect. Jebb has attempted, at some length, to point out the specific differences between these words. The following is an abstract of his remarks: — “The next peculiarity to be observed in this psalm is, the regular recurrence of nine characteristic words, at least one or other of which is found in each distich, with one solitary exception, the second distich of the 12th division. These words are law, testimonies, precepts, statutes, commandments, judgments, word, saying; and a word which only twice occurs as a characteristic, — way.
“These are, doubtless, all designations of the Divine Law; but it were doing a deep injury to the cause of revealed truth to affirm that they are mere synonyms; in other words, that the sentiments of this compendium of heavenly wisdom are little better than a string of tautologies. The fact is, as some critics, both Jewish and Christian, have observed, that each of these terms designates the same law of God, but each under a different aspect, signifying the different modes of its promulgation, and of its reception. Each of these words will now be examined in order, and an attempt will be made to discriminate them.
“1. Law. This word is formed from a verb which means to direct, to guide, to aim, to shoot forwards. Its etymological meaning, then, would be a rule of conduct, a κανών σαφὴς. It means God’s law in general, whether it be that universal rule called the law of nature, or that which was revealed to his Church by Moses, and perfected by Christ. In strictness, the law means a plain rule of conduct, rather placed clearly in man’s sight, than enforced by any command; that is to say, this word does not necessarily include its sanctions.
“2. Testimonies are derived from a word which signifies to bear witness, to testify. The ark of the tabernacle is so called, as are the two tables of stone, and the tabernacle: the earnests and witnesses of God’s inhabitation among his people. Testimonies are more particularly God’s revealed law: the witnesses and confirmation of his promises made to his people, and earnests of his future salvation.
“3. Precepts, from a word which means to place in trust, mean something intrusted to man, ‘that which is committed to thee:’ appointments of God, which consequently have to do with the conscience, for which man is responsible, as an intelligent being.
“4. Statutes. The verb from which this word is formed means to engrave or inscribe. The word means a definite prescribed written law. The term is applied to Joseph’s law about the portion of the priests in Egypt, to the law about the Passover, etc. But in this psalm it has a more internal meaning; — that moral law of God, which is engraved on the fleshy tables of the heart; the inmost and spiritual apprehension of his will: not so obvious as the law and testimonies, and a matter of more direct spiritual communication than his precepts: the latter being more elaborated by the efforts of the mind itself, divinely guided indeed, but perhaps more instrumentally, and less passively, employed.
“5. Commandments, derived from a verb signifying to command or ordain. Such was God’s command to Adam about the tree; to Noah about constructing the ark.
“6. Judgments, derived from a word signifying to govern, to judge or determine, mean judicial ordinances and decisions: legal sanctions.
“7. Word. There are two terms, quite distinct in the Hebrew, but both rendered word, in each of our authorized versions. The latter of these is rendered saying in the former volume of this work. They are closely connected; since out of twenty-two passages in which word occurs, in fourteen it is parallel to, or in connection with, saying. From this very circumstance it is evident they are not synonymous.
“The term here rendered word means the Λόγος, or Word of God, in its most divine sense; the announcement of God’s revealed will; his command; his oracle; at times, the special communication to the prophets. The ten commandments are called by this term in Exodus: and rybd is the oracle in the temple. In this psalm it may be
considered as, — 1. God’s revealed commandments in general. 2. As a revealed promise of certain blessings to the righteous. 3. As a thing committed to him as the minister of God. 4. As a rule of conduct; a channel of illumination.
“8. As to the remaining word way, that occurs but twice as a characteristic word, and the places in which it occurs must rather be considered as exceptions to the general rule: so that I am not disposed to consider it as intended to be a cognate expression with the above. At all events, its meaning is so direct and simple as to require no explanation: a plain rule of conduct; in its higher sense, the assisting grace of God through Christ our Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” — Jebb’s Literal Translation of the book of Psalms, with Dissertations, volume 2, pages 279-293.
ftd401 I have hid thy word in my heart, i.e., I have laid it up there, as men deposit their most precious possessions in a secure place known only to themselves. Comp. Proverbs 11:1; and see 2 Kings 20:13, etc., for an instance of the contrary practice.
ftd402 — “Et les ans qui se seront en fascherie.” — Fr.
ftd403 “The Hebrew yngçt is here in the conjugation Hiphil, from hgç, to be ignorant or err. Now of that conjugation the Hebrews observe, that as it signifies sometimes no more than to permit, so it sometimes notes to cause, sometimes to occasion, that which the verb imports.” — Hammond.
ftd404 Marvelous things “means things which are difficult and wonderful. The reference here is to the figures and adumbration’s of the law, which so veiled and concealed the substances to which they related, that the mass of readers quite lost sight of them. The Psalmist therefore prays for Divine illumination, to enable him to solve, at least in some decree, the enigmas in which future things were enveloped.” — Walford.
ftd405 “Every intense exertion of mind has an influence, if it be long continued, to exhaust and impair the faculties in some degree. Such an effect is here alluded to; the close and assiduous attention which the Psalmist had paid, and the exertion of strong desire which he had exercised, produced the feeling which he here speaks of. He is also to
be regarded as using the language of poetry, which admits of stronger colouring than prosaic description.” — Walford.
ftd406 “Maintenant veu qu’elle n’y est point adjoustee, le mot de Destruire y conviendra mieux.” — Fr.
ftd407 My soul may here be considered equivalent to I myself. In Jeremiah 51:14, by my soul is rendered, in our English translation, by myself.
ftd408 “Mon ame s’escoule goutte a goutte.” — Fr. “Floweth drop by drop.” Walford, who translates “is bowed down,” considers Calvin’s translation objectionable, as it does not correspond with the prayer in the succeeding sentence, Raise me up according to thy word. “The Vulgar translation of this clause,” says he, “‘my soul melteth,’ or, as other interpreters think, ‘my soul is dissolved into tears,’ appears to be inadmissible, chiefly on account of the next clause. Dathe, following Driessenius, Knapp, and Seiler, explains it, as is here done, by ‘is bowed down,’ a sense which the word ãld has in the Arabic use of it, and which certainly agrees with the connection much better than that of weeping or dissolving.”
ftd409 The original word for my soul might here, as in verse 28, be translated I myself, or my life, and then, cleaving to the dust may imply an apprehension of approaching death; and this agrees best with the petition. “By dust is here probably meant the sepulchre or grave, as in Psalm 22:15, 29, so that the Psalmist is to be understood to say, ‘The dangers which surround me are such as threaten my death;’ and he immediately adds, ‘ Revive me according to thy word,’ i.e., Make me glad by delivering me from these perils, in agreement with the promises which thou hast given me.” — Walford ftd410 Arnobins and Augustine interpret thy word as signifying, in this place, thy promise. See verse 28, and Psalm 44:25.
ftd411 “On pourroit dire en francois, Donne moy gratuitement.” — Fr. “One can say in French, Give me gratuitously.”
ftd412 Per Synecdochen.
ftd413 “Au large.” — Fr.
ftd414 “O take not, etc. This verse seems to admit of either of the two following interpretations: ‘Suffer me not to desist utterly from making an open profession of true religion; for I wait for thy promises:’ or, ‘Suffer me not to be reproached with falsehood, (for having asserted that thou wouldest take vengeance on the wicked,) because I have looked for thy judgments,’ i.e., thy penal judgments. Calvin favors the former interpretation, the latter is Le Clerc’s.” — Cresswell. Walford, by word, understands the answer that the Psalmist had to make to the accusations of his enemies: and observes, “This answer, which asserted his innocence of the crimes with which they charged him, he declares to be altogether true; and he entreats that God, as a judge, would not suffer him to be deprived of the benefit of that answer, but pronounce a righteous sentence between them.”
ftd415 “Dr Delaney supposes that this is spoken in reference to Achish, king of Gath, whom David had instructed in the Jewish religion: but we have already seen that it is most likely that the psalm was compiled under the Babylonish captivity. But the words may, with more propriety, be referred to the case of Daniel, and other bold and faithful Israelites, who spoke courageously before Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and Darius. See the Books of Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah.” — Dr Adam Clarke.
ftd416 “The lifting up of the hands is used in Scripture to denote, first, praying, (Psalm 28:2; Lamentations 2:19; 1 Timothy 2:8;) secondly, blessing, (Leviticus 19:22; Psalm 22:4;) thirdly, swearing, (Genesis 14:22; Deuteronomy 32:40; <19A626>Psalm 106:26; Ezekiel 36:7; Revelation 10:5;) fourthly, setting about any undertaking, (Genesis 41:44; Psalm 10:13; Hebrews 12:12) Aben Ezra, however, explains, (and perhaps rightly,) that the metaphor, in this place, is taken from the action of those who receive any one whom they were glad or proud to see with uplifted hands.” — Cresswell. Merrick explains the phrase thus: “I will reach out my hands with eagerness, in order to receive thy commandments.”
ftd417 “The Scriptures, like a true mirror, display the justice of God, in the punishment of sinners, and his goodness, in rendering righteousness.” — Dimock.
ftd418 The Hebrew word here used for terror is hp[lz, zalaphah, and is supposed to refer to the blasting or scorching wind, called the Simoom, well known to the Eastern nations. Accordingly, Michaelis reads, “A deadly East wind seizes me.” Cocceius reads, “Horror, as a tempest, has seized upon me.” “The sacred writer,” says he, “represents the vehement commotion of his mind as resembling a violent commotion in the air.” According to Dimock, hp[lz denotes, in this place, the burning fever which the pestilential winds in the East occasioned. The word occurs only three times in Scripture; here, in Psalm 11:7, and in Lamentations 5:10. Our translators have rendered it, in Psalm 11:7, by storm, and in Lamentations 5:10, in the margin, plurally by terrors or storms. See volume 1, page 168, note.
ftd419 “In the early ages, it was customary to versify the laws, that the people might learn them by heart, and sing them.” — Williams.
ftd420 “Ou, les assemblees des meschans m’ont despouille’, ou pille.” — Fr. marg. “Or, the assemblies of the wicked have robbed me.”
ftd421 “I thought on my ways. ytbçj, chashabti, I deeply pondered them; I turned them upside down: I viewed my conduct on all sides. The word as used here is a metaphor taken from embroidering, where the figure must appear the same on the one side as it does on the other: therefore the cloth must be turned on each side every time the needle is set in, to see that the stitch be fairly set. Thus narrowly and scrupulously did the Psalmist examine his conduct; and the result was, a deep conviction that he had departed from the way of God and truth.” — Dr Adam Clarke.
ftd422 “The original word, which we translate delayed not, is amazingly emphatical. Ythmhmth alw velo hethmahmaheti, I did not stand what, what, whating; or, as we used to express the same sentiment, shilly-shallying with myself; I was determined, and so set out. The Hebrew word, as well as the English, strongly marks indecision of mind, positive action being suspended, because the mind is so unfixed as not to be able to make a choice.” — Dr Adam Clarke.
ftd423 “The congregation of the ungodly have robbed me. — Common Prayer Book. Rather the cords of the wicked have unfolded me; i.e., their machinations have been directed against me, and not without effect. A cord, however, from its being composed of many strings twisted together, was used metaphorically by the Hebrews, as, the word band is by us, to denote a collection of men: and it is accordingly, in 1 Samuel 10:5, 10, rendered in our English Bible by company, in which sense it is here taken in the version of our Book of Common Prayer, after the Chaldee: the Septuagint gives the literal translation of the word.” — Cresswell.
ftd424 Archbishop Secker reads, “made up.” “It signifies,” says he, “fastening things together.”
ftd425 The fat of the human body, as physiologists inform us, is absolutely insensible; the lean membranous parts being those only which are sensitive. Accordingly, fatness of heart is used, with much propriety, to express the insensibility, stupidity, or sensuality of those feelings or affections of which the heart is considered the seat.
ftd426 Bottles, among the Jews and other nations of the East, were made of goats’ or kids’ skins, as is the custom among the Eastern nations at this day. When the animal was killed, they cut off its feet and head, and drew it, in that manner, out of the skin without opening the belly. They afterwards sewed up the places where the legs were cut off, and the tail, and when it was filled, they tied it about the neck. In these bottles, not only water, milk, and other liquids were put, but every thing intended to be carried to a distance, whether dry or liquid. To these goat-skin vessels a reference is here undoubtedly made. The peasantry of Asia are in the habit of suspending them from the roof, or hanging them against the walls of their tents or humble dwellings: here they soon become quite black with smoke; for, as in their dwellings there are seldom any chimneys, and the smoke can only escape through an aperture in the roof, or by the door, whenever a fire is lighted the apartment is instantly filled with dense smoke. Accordingly, some suppose that the allusion here chiefly is to the blackness which a bottle contracts by hanging in the smoke; and the translators of our English Bible, by referring in the margin to Job 30:30, as parallel to this, seem to have supposed that the Psalmist refers to the blackness his face contracted by sorrow. “But,” says Harmer, “this can hardly be supposed to be the whole of his thought. In such a case, would he not rather have spoken of the blackness of a pot, as it is supposed the prophet Joel does, (Joel 2:6,) rather than to that of a leather bottle?” — Harmer’s Observations, volume 1, page 218. When such bottles are suspended in the smoky tent of an Arab, if they do not contain liquids, or are not quite filled by the solids which they hold, they become dry, shrunk, and shriveled; and to this, as well as to their blackness, the Psalmist may allude. Long-continued bodily affliction and mental trouble produce a similar change on the human frame, destroying its beauty and strength by drying up the natural moisture. It has also been thought that there is a contrast between such mean bottles and the rich vessels of gold and silver which were used in the palaces of kings. “My appearance in the state of my exile is as different from what it was when I dwelt at court, as are the gold and silver vessels of a palace from the smoky skin bottles of a poor Arab’s tent, where I am now compelled to reside.” — Ibid. and Paxton’s Illustrations, volume 2, pages 409, 410.
ftd427 “Comme a petit feu.” — Fr.
ftd428 “µydz, the proud. The proud here , as well as in many other parts of Scripture, stands for lawless, wicked men. So the rendering of the LXX. Is παράνομοι; Vulg. Iniqui. The relative, rça, is referred to twjyç, pits, by many persons, as Amyraldus, who thus paraphrases the latter part of the verse: ‘At retia illa, cum lege tua directe pugnant.’ Others make çydz the antecedent, of whom they consider the second hemistich as descriptive. The proud, who have not acted according to thy Law, have dug pits for me. The sense is more obvious, according to this latter exposition; for one does not see the force of the phrase, ‘digging pits,’ which are not according to God’s Law, as if pits might be dug which are according to it.” — Phillips.
ftd429 This is the explanation given by Walford. His translation is : —
*“O Jehovah! for ever* *Is thy word established in the heavens.”*
Upon which he observes: “The design of these words is by no means obvious, and the interpreters vary greatly in their explications. I have not met with any explanation that is altogether satisfactory, and shall therefore give what appears to me to be the true meaning. The design, in general, of the Psalmist is, to celebrate the immutability of the word of God: whatever He speaks is sure. To illustrate this position, he refers to the creation of the heavens and of the earth; they were alike formed by the word of God, — ‘He spake, and it was done.’ By virtue of that word these vast productions abide through all ages, so that the word of God is established and displayed in heaven and upon earth. As the same word uttered all the precepts and institutions of the law, and all the promises of the covenant of mercy, the unchangeableness of these precepts and promises is verified and manifested by the perpetual conservation of all these instances of physical power and energy.”
ftd430 “The literal translation is, to the whole of perfection I perceive a limit. The Hebrew word, however, which is rendered by perfection, occurs only in this place. It seems clearly to have for its root a verb signifying to complete, to finish: the meaning is, ‘to every created thing, however perfect, I see a boundary;’ that is, it is limited as to its capability, as well as to its duration.” — Cresswell.
ftd431 “All human things, however full, perfect, and admirable, are necessarily deficient and mutable; but the law of God, like the nature of him from whom it proceeds, endureth for ever, and is in all respects complete and unalterable. We are to understand by the law here, the whole revealed will of God, comprehensive of promise as well as precept.” — Walford.
ftd432 “As he had entered into the spiritual nature of the law of God, and saw into the exceeding breadth of the commandment, he soon became wiser than any of the priests, or even prophets who instructed him.” — Dr. Adam Clarke ftd433 “I understand more than the ancients. God had revealed to him more of that hidden wisdom, which was in his law, than he had done to any of his predecessors. And this was most literally true of David, who spoke more fully about Christ than any who had gone before him; or, indeed, followed after him. His compositions are, I had almost said, a sublime gospel.” — Ibid.
ftd434 This proverbial expression occurs in several other places of Scripture, in all of which it undoubtedly signifies, that the life of the person who employs it is in danger; as in Judges 12:3, “And when I saw that ye delivered me not, I put my life in my hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon;” 1 Samuel 19:5, “He put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistines;” and 1 Samuel 28:21, “And the woman came unto Saul, and said, I have put my life in my hand.” Phillips thus explains the figure: “We are accustomed to say, that an affair is in a person’s hands when the management and issue of it rest entirely with him, and so we speak when that affair is the life or death of an individual. Hence, similarly, when the Hebrews spoke of a person’s life being in his own hands, they might mean, that the preservation of his life was entirely with him, that he was destitute of all external assistance, and that consequently his life was in danger. This is particularly the case with military men, who, as they fight bravely, or otherwise, may preserve or lose their lives: so Jephthah, as appears from the passages above cited.” The figure may, however, be taken from the circumstance, that what a man carries openly in his hand is in danger of taking, or of being snatched away by violence. “The LXX. have changed the person of the pronoun, ἐν ταῖς cersi sou; in thy hands; as also the Syriac. It is probable that these ancient interpreters did not understand the phrase, and so expressed it according to what they thought might be the original reading, thus affording a very obvious sense. Augustine says, that many MSS. in his time had the second person. However, no such MSS. are known now, and there is no doubt whatever of the correctness of the present text. The Psalmist states that, though his life was in danger, yet he did not forget God’s law.” — Ibid.
ftd435 Thus, in the Arabic, it is, “on account of an eternal reward;” that is, the reward of grace promised to all the faithful. According to this view, the Psalmist would have a respect to the end and reward of faith and holy obedience. See Hebrews 11:26; 1 Peter 1:8, 9. As, however, the Psalmist, like all true believers, did not embrace and obey the law of God, only or chiefly from the hope of reward, but was chiefly attracted to obedience by love to God, and the intrinsic excellence of the law, others prefer reading “the reward is eternal.”
ftd436 In the Chaldee, it is “vain thinkers;” and thus the meaning would be, “I hate men that think evil, that devise wicked devices, or that have
false and evil opinions, opposite to God’s law, or tending to seduce men from it.”
ftd437 It signifies thoughts in Job 4:14, and 20:2; and opinions in 1 Kings 18:21: and these may be either good or evil, their character being determined by the context of the passage in which the word occurs.
ftd438 The sense of the text also requires that the word for thoughts should here be taken in a bad sense, for the Psalmist affirms that he hates them, and sets God’s law in opposition to them. Various epithets have been supplied to describe the character of these thoughts, such as “crooked,” by Calvin, “vain,” by our English version, and “high minded,” by Luther. Ainsworth supplies wavering, observing, that the original term denotes the top branches of trees, which are figuratively applied to the thoughts or opinions of the mind, to denote that they are wavering and uncertain, as 1 Kings 18:21; or to persons distracted with their own cogitations. Poole remarks, agreeably to Calvin’s interpretation, that the thoughts, or opinions, or devices of men differing from, or opposite to God’s law, may be intended, since, in the next clause, God’s law is opposed to them, and as some, both Jewish and Christian, expositors understand the Hebrew word.
ftd439 Dimock thinks that, by this expression, the Psalmist; probably alludes to the Lex Talionis amongst the Jews, and that the Apostle might refer to this passage in 2 Thessalonians 2:11; where he says, “that God should send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.”
ftd440 “Before the noun µygs, rendered dross, the particle k, of similitude, is understood, so that the Psalmist says, ‘Thou hast entirely removed (made to cease) all the wicked of the earth as dross,’ which is removed from metals by fusion, or from corn by winnowing. The society of men is as a mass of metal in which the wicked are as rust and dross. The judgments of God, which are searching, will cause a separation of the dross from the metal, and thus He will destroy the one and preserve the other.” — Phillips.
ftd441 The verb rms, samar, rendered hath trembled, denotes being seized with horror, so that the hair stands on end. It occurs in Piel in Job 4:15. This state of horror was produced on the mind of the
Psalmist by a contemplation of the divine judgments executed on the wicked, who are rejected like dross; and he was thus brought to fear God.
TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE
fte1 This sentence expresses the three specific heads into which LOWTH discovered Hebrew parallelism, — which involves in it much variety and many gradations, — may be generally And more loosely distributed, Parallels Synonymous, (or, according to JEBB, Parallels Cognate,) Parallels Autithetic, and Parallels Synthetic or Constructive. For an example of the first, see Psalm 1:1-5; of the second, see Psalm 20:7, 8; and of the third, see <19E807>Psalm 148:7-13.
PSALM 119
fte2 Literally, “for the word of thy righteousness.” Calvin understands it of the divine promises. Phillips translates “for the word of thy justice,” “that is,” says he, “for the sentence of justice. on my oppressors, as the first part of the verse teaches; for the passing this sentence will be equivalent to the granting the salvation which the Psalmist so ardently desired.”
fte3 “Above gold. bhzm, mizahab, more than resplendent gold; gold without any stain or rust.” — Dr. Adam Clarke fte4 “Ou, marguerites.” — Fr. marg. “Or, pearls.” “zpmw, umipaz, above solid gold; gold separated from the dross, perfectly refined.” — Dr. Adam Clarke. fte5 br[ This verb signifies to be pleasant, acceptable. So Bucer has translated the first part of the verse, oblecta servum tuum bono; and indeed the Chaldee has given the same sense to the verb, for it is rendered by µysb, make merry. But the other meaning which it has, viz. to become surety, is evidently more suitable; for the expression Be surety for thy servant for good, corresponds very well with the previous and subsequent petitions, which are for deliverance from the hands of the enemy.” — Phillips. fte6 “In times of great sorrow, when the heart is oppressed with care, and when danger threatens on every side, the human eye expresses with amazing accuracy the distressing and anguished emotions of the soul. The posture here described is that of an individual who perceives himself surrounded with enemies of the most formidable character, who feels his own weakness and insufficiency to enter into conflict with them, but who is eagerly looking for the arrival of a devoted and powerful friend, who has promised to succor him in the hour of his calamity.” — Dr. Morison. fte7 Durell translates this verse — “For, as much as I esteem all thy precepts, etc., therefore I hate,” etc.
fte8 “All the precepts of everything, i.e., all precepts concerning all things. I embrace thy revealed Word, without any exceptions. The Psalmist states, that he had most diligently applied his mind to the consideration of all God’s commandments, the circumstances and occasions on which they were given, and he observed that they abounded in justice and holiness. Since, therefore, they are all equally just and holy, whatsoever is contrary to them he regarded as unjust, impure, false and detestable. Hammond remarks, that ‘the reduplication of the universal particle lk is emphatic all, even all;’ and so the plain rendering is most current, all thy commandments, even all, have I approved.” — Phillips.
Fte9 In the French it is, “that no iniquity may have,” etc.
fte10 “htp pethach, ‘the opening of thy words giveth light:’ when I open my Bible to read, light springs up in my mind.” — Dr. Adam Clarke. The corresponding word in Syriac signifies to enlighten, and in Arabic to explain. Hence, in the opinion of some, jtp, pethach, is the expounding of thy word.
fte11 The allusion, according to some, is to an exhausted or thirsty traveler in hot countries, who gasps and pants for the cooling breeze, or the refreshing fountain. According to others this is a metaphor, taken from an exhausted animal in the chase, which runs open-mouthed, to take in the cooling air, the heart beating high, and the muscular force being nearly expended through fatigue. In either view the language is extremely expressive, showing how intensely the Psalmist longed for the refreshment and delight which an acquaintance with the word of God affords. And if the “opening of God’s words,” mentioned in the preceding verse, means the expounding of them, David here points out his eager desire to hear God’s word expounded.
fte12 “According to the custom, or usual mode of acting. So Luther — as thou art accustomed to do, etc. In Genesis 40:13 — ‘Thou shalt deliver the cup, fpçmk, according to custom.’”— Phillips. fte13 yb, bi, IN me. Let me have no governor but God; let the throne of my heart be filled by him, and none other. — Dr. Adam Clark fte14 In the French version it is “avarice.”
fte15 Rivers of waters — that is, a great profusion of tears. “The Orientals are in general very copious weepers; and this strong hyperbole is still much employed among them to express the highest degree of lamenting grief.” — Illustrated Commentary upon the Bible. fte16 “Les autres s’endorment sans grand soin de leur salut comme bestes brutes.” — Fr fte17 “Hath consumed me. The strong term here made use of corresponds very well with the forcible language of the preceding verse. My zeal for thy word is so great, that when I see how my enemies disregard it, I am overpowered by feelings of shame at their neglect.” — Phillips. fte18 Dr. Adam Clarke translates hpwrx, tseruphah, by purification. This rendering conveys a beautiful idea. God’s word is not only a purified thing, but a thing that purifies. It cleanses from sin every heart with which it comes into contact.
“Now ye are clean,” said Christ, “by the word which I have spoken unto you.” (John 15:3.)
This tendency of the word to impart a measure of its own purity to such as yield to its influence, endears it to all God’s people; and for this reason they make it the subject of their constant meditation.
fte19 The word which Calvin uses for “the twilight” is “crepusculum.”
fte20 According to this view, the last clause would read, “that I may keep thy statutes.”
fte21 The Hebrews divided the natural day into three portions–morning, noon, and evening — which are mentioned by David as seasons in which he engaged in prayer. (Psalm 55:17.) They also divided the night into three parts, called “watches,” consisting of four hours each, and commencing at our six o’clock in the evening. In Lamentations 2:19, we read of the first watch; or, as it is there designated, “the beginning of the watches;” in Judges 7:19, of “the middle watch;” and in Exodus 14:24, of “the morning watch.” A similar division of the night seems to have been made by other ancient nations, as appears from the references made to it by Homer and the early Greek writers. The Greeks and Romans, however, in improving their military discipline, afterwards divided the night into four watches, each consisting of three hours; and when the Jews fell under the dominion of the latter people, they adopted from them this division of the night. Hence we read of “the fourth watch of the night” in Matthew 14:25. And the four watches are mentioned together in Mark 13:35:
“Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at cock-crowing, or in the morning.”
The time at which each of these four watches began and ended is thus determined by Dr. Hales, who has written elaborately on the subject: “1. Oye, the late, began at sunset, and ended with the third hour of the night, including the evening-dawn, or twilight. It was also called oyia wJra, eventide, Marrk 11:11; or simply oyia, evening, John 20:19, etc. 2. Mesonuktion, the midnight, lasted from the third hour till midnight. 3. Alektorofwnia, the cock-crowing, midnight till the third hour after, or the ninth hour of the night. It included the two cock-crowings, with the second or principal of which it ended. 4. Prwi, the early, lasted from the ninth to the twelfth hor of the night, or sunrise, including the morning-dawn or twilight. It is also called prwia, morning, or morningtide, (wJra being understood,) John 18:28, etc.
“When the Psalmist here declares, that his eyes prevented the nightwatches, we are to understand him as chiefly referring to the middle and morning watches, which falling at that period of the night
when men in general are devoted to rest, envinced the strength, fervour, and self-sacrificing character of his devotions.” – Dr. Morison. fte22 By “judgments,” Calvin means “God’s Word,” as the reader will observe from what follows.
fte23 Walford translates, “Revive me, e Jehovah! according to thy wonted manner.”
fte24 “De testimoniis tuis.” — Lat. fte25 Walford’s rendering is, “I have known thy testimonies long since.” Phillips translates “of old;” and gives this explanation, “I have been acquainted with thy testimonies ever since I have possessed any knowledge, i.e. as soon as I came to years of reflection.
‘From a child thou hast known the holy scriptures.’
2 Timothy 3:15.”
fte26 Thou hast established them for ever. That is, thy revelations are unalterable and everlasting, as the attributes of their great Author, and can never fail those who rely upon them, in time, or in eternity.” — Warner on the Psalter. fte27 “Ou, forts robustes.” — Fr. “Or, very strong.”
fte28 The word in the Hebrew text is çar, rash. Dr. Adam Clarke suggests an explanation, which is at least ingenious. The first word in the book of Genesis is tyçarb, bereshith, “in the beginning;” which is derived from çar, rash, or raash. He therefore asks whether David in here calling the çar of God’s word truth, may not refer to tyçarb, the first word in the book of Genesis? If so, the meaning is, Every word thou hast spoken from tyçarb, the first in Genesis, to the end of the law and the prophets, and all that thou wilt yet speak, are true and shall have in due time their fulfillment.
fte29 “La letre k, qui signifie Sclon.” — Fr. “The letter k, which signifies ‘According to.’”
fte30 “Invasit me horror.” — Piscator. fte31 “C’est a dire, on vient de la pensee a l’effect.” — Fr. fte32 Literally, “Because of the judgments of thy righteousness.”
fte33 “They have not any offense, i.e. no occasion to bring them into sin, but such as, with God’s Spirit assisting them, they are enabled to overcome. The love of the law is a security to them from the enticements of wickedness, by which others are drawn aside from the path of rectitude, and are brought to ruin.” — Phillips. fte34 “David was persecuted by Saul and his associates ‘without a cause.’” — Warner on the Psalter. fte35 Among many other texts of Scripture which might be quoted to show that the number seven is often used for many, or an indefinite number, we may refer only to Genesis 4:15 and Leviticus 24:18. Some of the Jewish Rabbies, however, affirm that David is here to be understood literally, observing, that the devout Hebrews were accustomed to praise God twice in the morning before reading the ten commandments, and once after; twice in the evening before reading the same portion of inspiration, and twice after; which makes up the number of seven times a day.
fte36 “Primum,” Lat —” Devant toutes choses,” Fr. fte37 “All my ways are before thee”. The meaning of this expression may be gathered from other scriptural phrases: such as ‘walking before God;’ or ‘in his sight;’ which merely signify to live holy and righteously, so as to be acceptable in his sight. God is omniscient, and, consequently, ‘all the ways’ or actions of men are ‘ before him,’ or open to his knowledge and sight.” — Warner. fte38 As has been observed by some critics, the Psalmist’s cry for deliverance is here personified. He represents it as if an intelligent being, and as sent up by him to heaven, there to plead his cause in the presence of God. The same elegant poetical figure is used in the following verse, and it is of frequent occurrence in the Book of Psalms.
fte39 “En apres, il est facile de recueillir, que les deux membres de ce propos se doyvent lier ensemble par Combien, ou Ja soit, ou quelque autre telle partieule que les Latins appellent adversative.” — Fr. fte40 “A ce qu’a la fin il cesse de plus tracasser ca et la et estre comme vagabond.” — Fr. fte41 Before leaving this divine poem, to the close of which we halve now arrived, there are a few remarks which may be suggested upon a review of the whole. In the first place, it is worthy of observation, that its alphabetical structure has been so completely preserved, that not one of the initial letters in it has been lost. notwithstanding its length and great antiquity, being older by many ages than any of the celebrated writings of Greece and Rome. In the second place, the wonderful perfection and yet connection of its various parts is also deserving of attention. Wherever we begin we seem to be at the commencement, and wherever we stop the sense is complete; and yet the poem does not consist of detached sentences, but is a whole consisting of many parts, all of which seem necessary to its perfection. In the third place, the numerous apparent repetitions which occur in it ought not to excite the prejudice of the reader. Although the frequent recurrence of the same words may not have an effect altogether agreeable upon fastidious ears, yet these words are so connected with others, as to bring out new meanings and to suggest new trains of thought. Hence the intelligent and pious student, instead of finding the sentences tautological, will discover new sentiments welling out to preserve his attention and to keep alive the flame of devotion. Walford, after observing that some readers may think this poem singularly marked by frequent repetitions, adds — “It is not my intention to write an essay on this theme; and I shall therefore briefly say, that the implicitly of ancient writings is one of their greatest charms. If the repetitions of Psalm 119 create in it a blemish, it is one which the royal author of it shares in common with the most illustrious poet of Pagan antiquity; and that if simplicity and repetition are to be objected against David’s Ode, the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey will hardly escape condemnation.” In fine, the attentive reader must have observed the striking manner in which this composition exhibits the workings of genuine godliness in the regenerated soul. “I know of no part of the Holy Scriptures,” remarks that eminent man, Jonathan Edwards, “where the nature and evidences of true and sincere godliness are so fully and largely insisted on and delineated as in Psalm 119. The Psalmist declares his design in the first verses of the Psalm, keeps his eye on it all along, and pursues it to the end. The excellency of holiness is represented as the immediate object of a spiritual taste and delight. God’s law — that grand expression and emanation of the holiness of God’s nature and prescription of holiness to the creature — is all along represented as the great object of the love, the complacence, and the rejoicing of the gracious nature, which prizes God’s commands ‘above gold, yea, the finest gold,’ and to which they are ‘sweeter than honey and the honeycomb.’” — Edwards on the Religious Affections, part 3 section 3.
PSALM 120
fte42 This opinion was held by Rabbi David Kimchi; and he asserts that the Psalms, entitled Songs of Ascents or Steps, were so entitled because the Levites sang one of them upon each of the fifteen steps, which, says he, separated the court of the women from that of the men in Solomon’s Temple. This Calvin justly characterizes as a “silly conjecture;” and such an explanation is now generally rejected. Jebb, after stating several of the attempted solutions of the title of these Psalms, observes — “On these notions it is unnecessary to dwell, and still less upon that Jewish fable mentioned by Rabbi David, that these Psalms were sung on ascending the fifteen steps, which were imagined to lead from one of the outer courts of the Temple to that of the Levites. No trace in history, or authentic tradition, can be found of these steps, which owe their construction solely to the accommodating fancy of the Rabbins, who, as usual, imagined facts, in order to support their preconceived theories.” — Jebb’s Literal Translation of the Psalms, with Dissertations, volume 2. It is an additional objection to this Rabbinical conceit, that David, whose name several of these Psalms bear — and others of which have evident reference to his time and circumstances — lived in the time of the tabernacle, which had no steps.
fte43 The Syriac version calls them “Songs of Ascent out of Babylon;” and such is the interpretation of several modern critics, among whom is Calmet, who has given an able analysis of what has been written on this title in his Dissertation sur les quinze Psaumes Gradue. After stating numerous explanations, and characterizing many of them as “vaines et frivoles conjectures,” he adopts it as the most probable supposition, that they were sung during the journey of the returning captives from Babylon to Jerusalem.
fte44 This is the opinion of Aben Ezra.
fte45 While Calvin leans to this as the most probable explanation, he has before admitted that it is only a conjecture; and after all that has been said since his time on the subject, it is still involved in obscurity, and perhaps it is now impossible to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion. The Psalms, however, which bear this title, have a striking resemblance to each other, and are different in style from the other divine Poems in this book. They are all very short, and in several of them there is a gradation of meaning, and a degree of point towards the dose, which may be called epigrammatic. Hence Gesenius suggests that the title may mark a peculiar species of Hebrew composition. “The construction of the songs” [of degrees,] says Jebb, “is such as to reduce the evidently to a class. They are all short compositions, sententious, eminently fitted for lyrical use, in the highest degree poetical, and, as Calmet justly remarks, epigramrustic; using this term in its highest sense as concinnate, terse, and abounding in turns expressed with the most exquisite brevity. Two remarkable characteristics they possess, which, though found occasionally in other Psalms, seem to enter into the very texture of these — I mean the frequent recurrence of a characteristic word, and that figure which the rhetoricians call.Epanaphora, or the repetition of the same idea or expression. As to the characteristic words: In Psalm 121 this is the word keep (rmç); in Psalm 122 the word Salem, and others of a like sound; in Psalm 123 the word eyes, yny[, in Psalm 126 the words turn and captivity, which in Hebrew are almost the same, brµ and hbyç in Psalm 127 vain, arç; in Psalm 133 the word descend, rry; and bless, ˚rb in Psalm 134.” — Jebb’s Literal Translation of the Psalms, with Dissertations, volume 2.
fte46 “ytarq, I have called constantly, attentively, and anxiously, not with violent external gesture, or elevation of voice, but with strong inward emotion.” — Phillips. fte47 “Des leures.” — Fr. “From the lips.” But in the Hebrew text it is in the singular,” from a lip of falsehood,” that is, “from a false lip.”
fte48 “hymr ˆwçl, the deceitful tongue. We have here two norms, both of which are in the absolute state, so that we must suppose the latter to be put emphatically for an abjective, the force of the expression being the same as that of hymr ˆwçl, tongue of deceit, i.e., deceitful tongue, a more frequent construction. So also we have rqç tpç, lip of falsehood, for false lip, in the first member of this verse. The literal rendering of the words hymr ˆwçl, is tongue, (which is) deceit itself.” — Phillips.
Fte49 “La langue pleine de fraude.” — Fr. “The tongue full of deceit.”
Fte50 The Psalmist here addresses himself in particular to his traducers.
fte51 “Comme s’il avoit desia le triomphe contre toute la bande de scs ennemis.” — Fr. “As if he had already triumphed over the whole host of his enemies.”
fte52 The Hebrew word µtr, rothem, here rendered “juniper,” occurs also in I Kings 19:4, 5, and Job 30:4, in both which places it is’. translated in our English Bible by “juniper-tree.” It would appear that this shrub was remarkable for the intense flame with which it burned, and for the length of time during which its embers retained their heat. Several critics, however, think that the Hebrew rothem means the genista or Spanish broom; and in support of this opinion it is said that the genista is much used as fuel by the Arabs, among whom the Psalmist describes himself as then living; and that, as Geierus asserts, it” sparkles, burns, and crackles more vehemently than any other wood.” (See Parkhurst on µtr.) It is somewhat difficult to decide in this matter. As more than thirty different trees are mentioned in the Bible, and as we are but imperfectly acquainted with the natural history of these remote countries, it is no wonder though we find it impossible to identify all these trees. It may be observed that Calvin in his translation brings out that beautiful gradation of sense, terminating in a point of severity, for which the Hebrew text is remarkable, but which does not appear in our English version. Slanderous words are first compared to “arrows,” secondly, to “arrows discharged from the bow by a strong man,” and in proportion to the strength of a man will be the force with which his weapon strikes; next to “sharp arrows;” and lastly, to “coals of juniper,” or some wood used in those days celebrated for burning fiercely and long, (for the particle µ[, im translated with, is sometimes one of similitude, as in <19A606>Psalm 106:6, “We have sinned like as our fathers,”) intimating not only that malignant slanders deeply penetrate, but that they inflame and burn for a long time. Hence the Apostle James (James 3:5, 6) compares the tongue of slander to a fire enkindled from hell, and inflaming the course of nature. Some interpreters think that this verse is not to be understood as a description of calumny, but rather as the punishment which God will inflict on the calumniator. They therefore regard it as an answer to the question in the preceding verse, “What shall be given unto thee,” etc.; observing that calumny and falsehood being frequently represented by the images of arrows and fire, the same images suitably express the requital which awaits them at the hand of God — the swift and terrible retributive vengeance of the Almighty, which will overtake all who practice falsehood and slander. See Psalm 57:4; Psalm 64:3, 7, 9; and Job 20:26. “Sharp arrows of the
Mighty One, with coals of juniper,” await them. This opinion is adopted by Street, Mant, Morison, Paxton, Fry, French and Skinner. Calvin’s exposition is embraced by Walford and Phillips. The former, to elicit this meaning the more clearly, uses a supplement:
*“Sharp arrows of a warrior,* *And burning coals of juniper,* thou resemblest.*”*
He, however, in a footnote requests the reader “to observe, that this is given as what seems to be the most probable interpretation of the passage, though it cannot be regarded as absolutely certain.”
fte53 “C’est, en exile;” —”That is, in exile.” — Fr-. Marg. fte54 Literally it is, “I peace; and when I speak, they for war.”
fte55 This is the sense in which the word is rendered in most of the ancient versions. Thus the Septuagint has ἡ παροικία mru ἐμακρύνθη, “my sojourning is protracted;” and it is followed by the Syriac, Vulgate, and Arabic versions. Aquila has προσηλύτευσα ἐν μακρυσμῷ I was a stranger for a long time;” and Symmachus, παροικῶν παρίλκυσα “I have protracted sojourning.” Bishop Patrick and Dr. Hammond, following these authorities, render ˚çm, mesech, adverbially. But though this is a meaning which the word will bear, yet as Calvin observes, there is little room for doubting that it is here a proper name. The parallelism which enables us in many instances to determine the accurate interpretation of a word in Hebrew poetry when other helps entirely fail, decidedly favors this interpretation. The term corresponding to ˚çm mesech, in the next hemistich, is rrq kedar; and as it is universally admitted that this is the name of a place, it cannot be justly questioned that such is also the case with respect to ˚çm mesech. To render it otherwise is destructive of the poetical structure of the passage. “If,” says Phillips, “the adverbial sense be intended, then the expression should not have been ˚çm ytrg, but something analogous to hnkç tbr in the next verse. Many localities have been mentioned for the geography of Mesech, as Tuscany, Cappadocia, Armenia, etc., which proves that the particular district called by this name is uncertain.” It is however obvious that some barbarous and brutal tribes of Arabs are intended.
fte56 A similar mode of speaking is not uncommon in our own day. Thus we are accustomed to call gross and ignorant people Turks and Hottentots.
fte57 “D’autant que dcmeurant entre des faux freres et une race bastardc d’Abraham, a tort il est par eux molest4 et tourment( cornroe ainsi soit th’envers eux il se porte en bonne conscience.” — Fr.
fte58 My soul, for I. fte59 Et (par maniere de dire) monstre au doigt ceux,” etc. — Fr.
Fte60 “Aseavoir les Israelites desloyaux qui avoyent forligne’ des saincts Peres, et qui estoyent plustost des masques d’Israclites, que non pas une vraye semence d’Israel.” — Fr. fte61 In describing those among whom he was now living as haters of peace, and, in the next verse, as bent on war, the inspired writer probably still alludes to the Arab tribes he had specified in the 5th verse, who have, from their origin to the present hour, been eminently characterized by their hatred of peace and propensity to war. Dr. Shaw thus writes concerning these barbarous tribes as they are to be found in our own day, and their character and habits were the same at the time when this Psalm was written: “The Arabs are naturally thievish and treacherous; and it sometimes happens, that those very persons are overtaken and pillaged in the morning who were entertained the night before with all the instances of friendship and hospitality. Neither are they to be accused for plundering strangers only, and attacking almost every person whom they find unarmed and defenceless, but for those many implacable and hereditary animosities which continually subsist among them: literally fulfilling the prophecy to Hagar, that ‘Ishmael should be a wild man; his hand should be against every man, and every man’s hand against him.’”
PSALM 121
fte62 Phillips, who thinks it “probable that that Psalm was written just as the Israelites were about to commence their journey to their native land,” gives this explanation of the verse: “I will l lift up eyes to the mountains, viz., Zion, Tabor, Carmel, etc.; but especially to the first, as being the place of the ark, and consequently the place to which the Israelites directed their eyes, as to a fountain of all good. There they looked for help as often as circumstances rendered expected assistance requisite, as we learn from several passages in the Psalms. See Psalm 14:7; Psalm 20:3.” In returning from Babylon, how many a longing and anxious look would the Jews east to the hills of Palestine, and with how many stirring and sacred emotions would the sight of them fill their minds!
fte63 The Hebrew word is lx, tsel, “a shadow;” and hence it has been supposed that the words, “thy shadow at thy right hand.,” are a figurative expression, referring to the protection afforded by the shade of a tree against the scorching rays of the sun, or to the custom which prevails in tropical climates especially, of keeping off the intense heat of the sun by a portable screen, such as an umbrella or parasol. The word is often put for defense in general. Compare Numbers 14:9; Isaiah 30:2; Jeremiah 48:45.
fte64 A notion was prevalent among the heathen, that their gods sometimes slept, and were not then conscious of the wants of their worshippers. Elijah thus addressed in irony the followers of Baal, 1 Kings 18:27:
“Cry aloud; for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be waked.”
Very different was the character of the guardian of Israel. He relaxed not his watchful care over his people by indulging in light slumbers during the day, nor even by sleeping in the night, when the tired frame of man seeks and demands repose.
fte65 There seems to be an allusion in the first member to sun-strokes, which are very fatal in hot countries, sometimes inflicting instant death, or being soon followed by death, while at other times, when the person lives, he continues through the remainder of his days in a state of idiocy. Comparatively few survive and perfectly recover the effects of such a visitation. What the Psalmist means by the smiting of the moon is at first sight not so obvious. Some suppose that he speaks in conformity with a popular belief, which it is supposed prevailed in the East in his time, just as it does in the present day, respecting the deleterious influence of the moonbeams on the human body, although there is no ground for such a belief, the moon no doubt getting the blame of the injury done by the cold and dampness of the night. But the probability is, that by the striking of the moon he simply alludes to the cold of the night, which has very baneful effects on the human frame, particularly in such oriental countries as Palestine, where there is a sudden change from extreme heat in the day to extreme cold in the night.
PSALM 122
fte66 “The burden of the Psalm,” says Jebb, “is µwlç ‘peace.’ The play upon the words is very remarkable: µç, ‘there,’ and µç, ‘the name,’ lines 5 and 6; µyfbç, ‘tribes,’ line 5 fpçm, line 7. Then in line 9, and those. which follow: wlaç, ‘pray;’ µwlç, ‘peace;’ µlçwry, ‘Jerusalem;’ wylçy, ‘shall prosper;’ hwlç ‘prosperity.’” — Jebb’s Literal Translation of the Psalters, with Dissertations, volume 1. Speaking in reference to the author of the Psalm, and to the opinion held by some critics, that it was composed about the time or’ the restoration of the Jews from Babylon, he says —”The extraordinary play upon words already noticed might argue a later period of composition: [than the time of Δαςιδ. Still I cannot but think that the title assigning the Psalm to him is borne out by internal evidence of a stronger kind. The fond mention of Jerusalem, David’s beloved city; the thrones of the house of David; and the recurrence of peace, which was so emphatically promised to David, as the blessing about to be conferred on his son Solomon, are all circumstances, which, taken in connection, stamp this song with a character evidently belonging to the reign of the royal Psalmist.” — Ibid., volume 2.
fte67 “Ou, ont este. — Fr. marg. “ Or, have been.”
fte68 Literally, Jerusalem built as a city, that is joined to itself together’, i.e. the several parts of which are connected with each other, so as to form one compact whole. Before David’s time, Zion was not a part of Jerusalem, neither it seems was Millo: but he added them to the city, and enclosed them within its wall. (2 Samuel 5:7, 9; 1 Chronicles 11:7, 8.) Solomon afterwards added the hill of Moria, on which his temple was built, to Jerusalem.” — Cresswell. fte69 Walford translates —”According to the institution of Israel.” Phillips adopts a similar rendering, which he supports by the following: note: — “twd[, testimony, and thence a statute or law. Amyraldus says — ‘Quacunque re Deus voluntatem suam significet, id Dei testimonium solet appellari.’ The particle k should be understood as prefixed to this word. The statute spoken of here is that which is found in Exodus 23:17, and Deuteronomy 16:16, enjoining the tribes of Israel to assemble together before the Lord at the three great feasts. The place of their assembling was that which God chose for the residence of the ark, which was first at Shiloh, and afterwards at Jerusalem.” Bishop Horne, and French and Skinner read — “According to the testimony given unto Israel,” which brings out exactly the same meaning — testimony denoting, as they explain it, the injunction given to the Israelites in that passage in Deuteronomy quoted above.
Fte70 “Within thy walls. Josephus tells us, that there were at Jerusalem three ranges of walls surrounding the city. The sense of the passage is, ‘May no enemy approach even to thy out-works to disturb thy prosperity’” — Warner. fte71 “Ou, abondance.” — Fr. marg. “Or, abundance.”
fte72 “Et ne proufiter arien par ses prieres, d’autant qu’il n’observe point l’ordre legitime.” — Fr. fte73 Calvin’s meaning is, that as the nouns peace and prosperity have a corresponding signification, he was of opinion, that there existed a similar correspondence between the other two nouns.
fte74 The Latin copy here reads, “sed ad mores alludens;” but mores is evidently a typographical error for muros. The French version has “mais sous ceste similitude des murs.”
PSALM 123
fte75 “Look” is a supplement taken from the French version.
fte74A “Unto the hand of their masters — if we retain the word hand, it must be taken in the well-known sense which it sometimes bears of side or quarter: and the original word is used (Exodus 2:5)in the same sense. The phrase will then simply mean, that the eyes of servants look towards their masters, and this agrees with — so our eyes wait upon the Lord. But the Hebrew word also signifies power, (as in Deuteronomy 32:36,) which may very well be substituted for. hand in this place, the notion being that servants when they are in danger or in distress look to the power of their masters for assistance; and in general expect from them subsistence and defense.” — Cresswell.
PSALM 124
fte75A Alors les eaux enfiees et impetueuses fussent,” etc. — Fr. “The swollen and impetuous waters had then,” etc. The epithet proud is applied to the waves of the sea in Job 38:11.
fte76 “The metaphor may be taken from famished wild beasts attacking and devouring men, (Comp. 5:5,) or the reference may ‘be to the case of a man shut up alive in a sepulcher, (Proverbs 1:12,) and ]left there to perish, or (Numbers 16:30) swallowed up by an earthquake.” — Cresswell. “A figurative expression to intimate the savageness of the adversaries, alluding to the practice of many
predatory animals of swallowing their victims alive. Such is the wellknown habit of many of the predatory kinds of fish.” — Phillips.
fte77 The Church’s escape, be it observed, as appears from verse third, is likened to a rescue from the jaws of a ferocious animal, which swallows its prey quick, or alive. fte78 The reader will perceive, that as the imagery goes on it becomes the more beautiful. Pleasing and tender ideas are associated with the escape of an innocent bird from the snares which the art and cruelty of man had contrived, to deprive it of life, or rob it of liberty.
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Fte79 The supplementary words in this verse marked by inverted commas are taken from the French version.
Fte79A From the mountains or hills which surrounded Jerusalem, the Prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 11:3) represents it under the image of a “cauldron.”
fte80 fbç If this word be translated rod, then we understand the Psalmist to speak of the assaults of the wicked upon the righteous; but as the lot of the righteous evidently denotes their estates, possessions, etc., fbç consequently seems employed as the emblem of dominion, i.e. scepter. This notion of fbç comports better with that of lrwg [the word for the lot of]; and so the sense of the whole expression is, that the wicked shall not exercise dominion permanently over the righteous; the scepter of the wicked shall not rest,” etc. — Phillips. fte81 “Ou, se fourvoyent en leurs chemins obliques, ou, font fourvoyer.” — Fr. marg. “Or, go astray in their crooked paths, or cause to go astray.”
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fte82 The abstract noun is put for the concrete, “the captivity of Zion” for “the captives of Zion” — those who were led away captive from Zion. Accordingly, in the French version, Calvin uses the concrete —”Les captifs;” —”The captives.”
fte83 “Ou, alors nostre bouche a este remplie.” — Fr. marg. “Or, then our mouth was filled.”
fte84 “Ou, alors on disoit.” — Fr. marg. “Or, then they said.”
fte85 Grotius and Amyraldus suppose that it was compiled by Ezra, after the Jews had begun to return from Babylon.
fte86 That is, it would be derived from bwç, shrub, he returned; whereas if it is rendered captivity, it is derived from hbç, shabah, he led captive. The English Bible translators seem to have been uncertain whether tbyç, shibath, is to be considered as derived from the first of these verbs or from the second, their reading in the text being, “turned back our captivity,” and their marginal rendering being, “returned the returning.” There is a play upon the words, bwç, “turn,” and tbyç, “captivity.” It is to be observed that the concluding part of the above sentence in the text is from Calvin’s French Commentary. There is nothing to represent it in the Latin Version.
fte87 Walford reads, “Bring back all our captives, O Jehovah!” “The word all,” says he, “is not in the Hebrew text, but is necessary to the sense; for some had returned, and others were returning or about to return.” Some of the captive Jews came back to their own land in the reign of Cyrus, others in the reign of Darius, and the rest in the reign of Xerxes. Such therefore as had been the first to return, may be supposed to pray in these words for the restoration of their brethren.
Fte88 Phillips translates in the dry place. “The noun bgn,” says he, “in its usual acceptation, signifies south; but its primary sense is that of dryness, in which it is used in Joshua 15:19; Judges 1:15; where bgnh ≈ra is opposed to µwm tlg, springs of water.” In the Septuagint the reading is, like the torrents m the parched land.’ Street has —
*“Jehovah hath restored us from our captivity,* *As he* restoreth *the torrents in the dry country.”*
French and Skinner in like manner read “in a thirsty land.”
Fte89 Precaria libertas.” — Lat. “Ceste liberte obtenue d’eux par le bon plaisir du Roy.” — Fr.
fte90 Walford reads, “like the streams of the south.” — “In the southern districts of Palestine and Arabia,” says he, “the heat is so vehement during some seasons as to dry up the rivers completely, and parch the soil. When rains come, the torrents again flow, and the soil is refreshed and verdant; — a delightful image of the joy experienced by captives on returning to their native land.”
fte91 “Fuit Judteis sun migratio sationis instar.” — Lat. “Le tranaport des Juifs en Babvlone leur a este comme un temps de semence.” — Fr.
fte92 The word then may be prefixed to this verse: then, ie., when thou hast brought back the captives, they that sowed in tears shall reap in joy.” — Cresswell. fte93 “˚çm. This word has been variously interpreted; for as it is found only here and in Job 28:18, its signification is uncertain. In the Syriac we have it rendered by a word which signifies a skin and hence J. D. Michaelis proposes to take ˚çm for a sack made of skin. So Aben Ezra thinks ‘that it is the name of a measure in which there is seed.’ The author of Mendlessohn’s Beor, approves of this comment, and observes, that ˚çm was a small cup made of skin.’ The root is ˚çm, to draw out.’ We should, however, adhere as strictly to the meaning of the root if we render the expression as Gesenius has done, by the drawing of the seed, i.e., the strewing or sowing of the seed. I think, however, Michaelis’s rendering is the best, as fitting with the preceding word avg; and so we have carrying the sack of seed, at the end of the first hemistich, which corresponds with carrying his sheaves at the end of the second.” — Phillips. On the margin of our English Bible it is “seed-basket.” Street reads, “Bearing the vessel with the seed;” Horsley, “He that goeth, and weeping beareth the seed to be drawn forth; French and Skinner, “Bearing seed for his sowing;” Fry, “Sowing his seed,” observing, that ˚çm expresses the action of casting the seed into the ground; and Walford, “Carrying seed for sowing.” “Literally it is,” says Cresswell, “a drawing forth of seed, i.e., as much as the sower, putting his hand into whatever contained the seed, could take out at once. Amos 9:13.”
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fte94 “Augustine beautifully applies the language of this Psalm to Christian ministers and pastors, as God’s builders and watchmen of his Church. How vain their labors without the grace and power of God!” — Fry.
fte95 For is supplied from the French version.
fte97 “Ou que nous demeurions les bras eroisez sans rien faire.” — Fr.
fte98 Walford reads — “He truly granteth sleep to his beloved;” and observes that the sentence is enfeebled by the word “so” in the vulgar translation. “It most likely means,” he adds, “‘in truth,’ i.e., truly; and the sense will be, though all exertion is vain without God, yet he truly bestows refreshing sleep, free from anxiety and excessive exertion, upon those who are the objects of his love, inasmuch as they combine all their endearours with due regard to him.” Cresswell adopts the rendering of the Septuagint, which is “since he giveth his beloved sleep.”
Fte99 “Fructus. Merces, fructus ventris.” — Lat. “Le fruict du ventre est loyer qu’il donne.” — Fr. fte100 µyrw[nh ynb, sons of youth, words which may signify children begotten by the father in his youth, as µynqzAzb, is a son begotten by a parent in his old age, (Genesis 37:3;) or the expression may denote youths, as rkn ynb mean strangers, (Psalm 18:45.) Either rendering, I apprehend, will be suitable on this occasion; for the object of the verse is doubtless to show, that a numerous progeny is a great blessing to a man, and an important addition to his strength and safety; that they will be a defence to him in a time of danger, and serve him to repel an enemy, as arrows do in the hand of a mighty man.” — Phillips. fte101 “Car” — Fr. fte102 “Legitimos conventus.” — Lat. “Les assemblees Judiciales.” — Fr.
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fte103A “The tables of the Jews, as we may hence (and from 1 Samuel 16:11) infer, were round: they had sobs (Ezekiel 23:41) placed about them, on which (Genesis 27:19; Judges 10:6; 1 Samuel 2:5, 24, 25; 1 Kings 13:20) they sat, excepting at the Paschal feast.” — Cresswell. In the Illustrated Commentary upon the Bible, the writer on this passage objects to the common reading — Fruitful vine by the sides of thine house. olive- plants round about thy table. “We do not remember,” says he, “to have met with a single instance in the East of vines trained against the walls of a house, or of olives near or about a house. Neither have we read of such instances. The passage doubtless derives its figures from the fertility of the vine, and from the appearance of the olive, or the order in which olive-trees are planted.” He accordingly proposes the following construction — “Thy wife, on the sides (interior apartments) of thy house, shall be as the fruitful vine; and thy children, round about thy table, like olive-plants.”
fte104 “Lequel true fois ayant bon vent sur mer, et la navigation prospore apres avoir pille une temple.” — Fr. fte105 Il use en premier lieu d’un mot qui est commoe pour demonstrer la chose au doigt ou a l’oeil, voyla. — Fr. “He, in the first place, uses a word, which is, as it were, to point to the thing with the finger, or show it to the eye, Lo!”
PSALM 129
fte106 “Targ. lengthened out their ploughing, i.e., gave us no rest from their slavery, for the longer the furrows the more tedious is the labor of the oxen.” — Bythner. fte106A Hence it is said in Hosea 11:1 —
“When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.”
Youth is in like manner ascribed to a people, in Isaiah 47:12, 15; Jeremiah 48:11; and Ezekiel 16:43.
fte107 According to Archbishop Seeker, this refers to severe scourging; and those who have witnessed this cruel infliction tell us that the allusion is most expressive, the long weals or wounds left by the scourges at each stroke being most aptly compared either to furrows, or (as the original admits) to the ridges between the furrows. With respect to the alleged incongruity of ploughing, and making long furrows on the back, the Archbishop observes, “Lacerare et secare tercum are Latin phrases, and ploughing is not much stronger, to express a severe scourging.” The language of the Psalmist may, however, without allusion to any particular species of persecuting violence, be, as Calvin understands it, simply a strong image of cruel oppression. “The persecutors of Israel,” says Walford, “are compared to ploughmen; because as they cut up, and as it were torture the surface of the earth, so did the adversaries greatly and grievously distress these afflicted people.”
fte108 Fry reads “corn,” “ryxj,” says he, “evidently includes corn as well as grass.”
fte109 In the French version it is “son aisselle;” — “his arm-pit.”
fte110 “Here is an allusion to the custom of blessing; the reapers at their work; as in that instance recorded in the book of Ruth 2:4, ‘And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The Lord be with you; and they answered him, The Lord bless thee.’” — Warner. “Precisely the same customs of salutation which are here indicated still prevail in Mohammedan Asia. Nearly the same form of words, implying the blessing and peace of God, is retained, and the neglect to give the salutation is still an indignity and an insult.” — Illustrated Commentary upon the Bible. fte111 “In Judea, the roofs of the houses are flat, and covered with cement. On this the grass would not uncommonly grow: but, being thin and weak, and its situation hot and exposed, it was speedily ‘dried up and withered.’ The same sort of architecture, and the same appearances, are common in the East at this day.” — Warner. fte112 ãlç differently interpreted. By the greater number of persons it is translated, to extract, to pull out; and thus it is used in Ruth 4:7, 8, and John 20:25, ‘Before any one extracts the grass it withereth.’ The Septuagint has πρὸ τοῦ εκσπασθῆναι, and the Vulgate, ‘priusquam evellatur.’ Our translators have rendered ãlç tmdqç, ‘afore it groweth up,’ in which they are supported by Aquila and Symmachus. Theodoret observes that many MSS. of the Septuagint have ἐξανθῆναι for ἐκσπασθῆναι. In either case the sense is, that the haters of Zion shall be exterminated by the just and wonderful judgments of God, before they have time to accomplish their wicked intentions.” — Phillips. “Parkhurst adopts Harmer’s opinion, that the Hebrew verb in this place signifies, ‘to push out, unsheath, as corn its ear.’ It appears nowhere else but in the sense of ‘unsheathing a sword,’ or drawing off a shoe.’ The proper translation seems to be, ‘Which withereth before it unsheaths its ear.’ See Parkhurst on ãlç.” — Mant. fte113 “Whereof the mower hath not filled his hand, etc. — i.e., It is too scanty to afford employment for a labourer to gather it by the hand, or for a reaper, who uses a sickle, depositing what he cuts in the fold of his garment, or as Le Clerc understands it, under his left arm. The Psalmist in effect prays, that the enemies of Israel may be reduced to such poverty, that none could become richer by despoiling them: in a word, that they might be altogether despicable. For binding up the sheaves, Hammond suggests, gathereth the handfuls, with reference to the gleaner, Ruth 2:2.” — Cresswell. fte114 Au lieu que chacun communement en passant par les bleds les benit, et prie pour la moisson.” — Fr.
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fte115 The depths or deep gulfs are used in Scripture as an emblem of extreme danger or calamity, whether of body or of mind. See Psalm 69:2, 15. “The Papists, taking the deep as a type of purgatory, recite this Psalm in the persons of those who have died in their communion.” — Cresswell. To this Calvin afterwards adverts.
fte116 The allusion is to judicial proceedings. It is as if the Psalmist had said, If thou wert, like an earthly judge, to note down every minute circumstance of guilt, who would be able to stand such a trial, or leave thy court unconvicted, or uncondemned? The verb, “rmç, denotes not only to mark, or observe, but to observe diligently, so as to retain a perpetual memory of what is done amiss - a rigid and judicial observation of faults: see Job 10:14; Job 14:16, 17.” - Phillips. fte117 ‘ “Et demeure confus.” - Fr.
fte118 “Concionantur.” - Lat. “Ils tiendront long propos.” - Fr. fte119 Some, as Street, Mant, Dr. Adam Clarke, French and Skinner, and Phillips, suppose that the allusion in this verse is to the watchings which the Priests and Levites in their turns exercised during the night in the Temple, (see Psalm 34:1,) and especially to those officers of theirs who were appointed to watch for the first dawn of day, in order that the morning sacrifice might be offered. “In the Talmudical Tract Tamid it is related, ‘The prefect said to them, Go and see if the time of slaying; have arrived; if it had arrived, the watcher calls out, yaqrb, Coruscations.’ Agreeably to this explanation of the verse is the rendering of the Chaldee, which is as follows: ‘ My soul waits for the Lord, more than the keepers of the morning vigils, which they observe for offering of the morning oblation.’ “ - Phillips. “The custom alluded to by the Targumist,” [or Chaldee,] says Street, “is mentioned in Exodus 30:7. ‘And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps he shall burn incense upon it.’” “The similitude,” observes Mant, “is beautifully expressive of the eager impatience of the Psalmist; which is still further augmented by the repetition.”
fte120 “Ou, punitions.”–.Fr. “Or, punishments.”
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fte121 “alAµa, A formula of swearing which may be translated surely or indeed. I have surely so disposed and disciplined my soul as to remove it from any longing after great things, from any ambitious tendencies.” - Phillips. fte122 Of all explanations the best is that of considering the comparison to consist between the humbleness and simplicity of the Psalmist’s mind, and that of a little child, in whom there does not exist a sufficient consciousness to create an ambition for any worldly object. The comparison is not with qnwy, a suckling; for it has a longing after the mother’s breast, and, therefore, such a comparison would not be appropriate. The same, indeed, may be said of a child who has only just been weaned; for, in that stage, how often does it cry and mourn after that of which it has been deprived, and the possession of which was just before its chief pleasure? We therefore conclude, that the comparison is intended to be with a child who has been weaned a sufficient time to have forgotten its infantile nutriment, and who is not conscious of any particular desires or cravings, and quietly resigns itself to its mother’s care and training. — Phillips.
PSALM 132
fte123 Lightfoot ascribes this Psalm to David, and supposes it to have been composed on the second removal of the Ark from the house of Obededom. (1 Chronicles 15:4, etc.) But the mention of David’s name in the tenth verse in the third person, and the terms there employed, militate against his being the Author. Others ascribe it to Solomon, who, they think, wrote it about the time of the removing of the Ark into the Temple, which he had built for it. (2 Chronicles 5:2, etc.) Others are of opinion, that it was composed by Solomon for the solemn services that were celebrated at the dedication of the Temple. “The whole tenor of this Psalm,” says Jebb, “is an exact epitome of the Dedication Prayer of Solomon. (2 Chronicles 6) The topics are the same - the building the house of the Lord - the promise to David - the inhabitation of the Almighty; - and the concluding sentences of the Dedication, are identical with those expressions of the Psalm in verses 8, 9, 10. There can, therefore, be little question that this Psalm was composed by Solomon.” - Jebb’s Literal Translation of the Book of Psalms, etc., volume 2. As this
forms one of the “Songs of Degrees,” those who conceive that these Psalms were so called beta. use sung by the Jews about the time of their return from Babylon, conclude that Ezra selected this ancient song to be sung at the dedication of the second Temple.
fte124 The expression of going up to one’s bed may be illustrated by what Dr. Shaw says of the Moorish houses in Barbary. Having observed that their chambers are spacious, of the same length with the square court, in the sides of which they are built, he adds, “At one end of each chamber there is a little gallery raised three, four, or five feet above the floor, with a balustrade in the front of it, with a few steps likewise leading up to it. Here they place their beds; a situation frequently alluded to in the Holy Scriptures.” The language of the text is no doubt hyperbolical, as Calvin observes, being intended to express David’s great anxiety to have a house built for the worship of God.
fte125 twnkçm We have here the plural put by enallage for the singular.” Phillips.
Fte126 bq[y ryba abir Yaaicob, the Mighty One of Jacob. By this expression, which occurs both here and in <19D202>Psalm 132:2, the Psalmist evidently has a reference to the Patriarch’s own words which he employed in his blessing to Joseph, where God is emphatically so designated. (Genesis 49:24.) From this Hebrew name ryba, abir, and rybk, cabir, which is synonymous, probably came the Cabiri, or the great gods of the Grecians, and the Abiry of the Druids. See Thes. Antiq. Roman. tom. 5 page 760; Bryant’s Myth. volume 2:page 473; and Cooke’s Patriarchal and Druidical Religion.
fte127 This oath is not mentioned in any of the historical books of the Old Testament. There is, however, allusion in them to his vow on the subject, although he was forbidden by God to perform it. See 2 Samuel 7:2, 3; and 1 Chronicles 22:7-10.
fte128 That is, the objective affix h, which appears at each of the verbs in this verse, and which is translated it. By some it is thought that the antecedent is ˆwra, aron, ark, which, although it is generally masculine, is yet sometimes feminine, as in 1 Samuel 4:17; 2 Chronicles 8:11. Such is the opinion of Dr. Lightfoot, who explains the verse thus: “We heard of it (the ark) in Ephratah, (that is,
Shiloh,) a city of Ephraim; we found it in the fields of the wood, that is in Kirjath-jearim. 1 Samuel 7:1,” etc. (Lightfoot’s Chorogr. Cent., c. 45.) Others consider the h to refer to habitations, in the preceding verse; and though that noun is in the plural, it is, as noticed in a preceding note, put by enallage for the singular. Rosenmuller thinks this opinion - which is the one adopted by Calvin - the more probable and no doubt at first sight the most obvious meaning is, that the pronoun it refers to the spot which David had discovered as a suitable place on which to erect the house of God. Walford, indeed, objects that “this cannot be intended, because the site of the Temple was neither at Ephratah, nor in the fields of the wood, or of Jaar;” and he gives at some length an ingenious explanation of this difficult passage, extracted chiefly from the German writer Tilingius. This objection, it will be perceived, is removed by one of the expositions suggested by Calvin, which supposes that the allusion is first to a report of Ephratha being the place where the Temple was to be built; and next to the certain information which the people of Israel afterwards obtained that Jerusalem was the spot which God himself had selected. Whether this however is the correct explanation of the verse, it is not so easy to determine.
fte129 Bethlehem, the place of David’s nativity, is called Ephratha in Genesis 35:19.
fte130A Boni paterculi. — Lat. fte130 Arise, O Jehovah! were the words which Moses used (Numbers 10:35) whenever in the journey through the wilderness the Ark moved forward; and this and the two following verses form a part of the prayer which Solomon offered at the dedication of the Temple, (2 Chronicles 6:41, 42,) which might be considered as the resting-place of God and of the Ark. The Ark is here called “the Ark of thy strength” - that is, the symbol of thy power and majesty. This phrase is found only in this place and in the passage above cited.
fte131 Compare Psalm 89:48. The sacred histories make no mention of such an oath, but a promise to the same effect is recorded in 2 Samuel 7:12; 2 Kings 8:25.
fte132 Sed quia secum trahebat alias accessiones.” - Lat.
fte133 Solomon’s Temple was built on mount Moriah, and not on mount Zion. But as Moriah was just at the end of Zion, it was sometimes reckoned a part of that mount, and was called by its name. Even the Temple and its courts are so designated, (Psalm 65:1; and Psalm 84:7.) Zion may, however, be here put for Jerusalem in general.
fte134 In <19D209>Psalm 132:9, the prayer of the Psalmist to God is, that the priests may be clothed with righteousness; and in this. concluding portion of the Psalm, where God is declaring what he will do to the king and city of his people, he promises to grant even more than was asked for in this petition; for, says he, ‘I will clothe her priests with salvation;’ not with righteousness only, but with what is the consequence or reward of righteousness, viz., salvation.” - Phillips. fte135 “hdyx, her provision. The word dyx signifies food which is taken in hunting, and then it is used to express food of. any kind — provision generally. The Septuagint has θήραν, which denotes provision that has been hunted, and so obtained; but another reading of the Greek version τὴν χήραν αὐτῆς, which has been followed by the Vulgate, Arabic, and Ethiopic; the rendering of the Vulgate being viduam ejus. This corrupt reading is noticed by Jerome.” - Phillips. fte136 Some think the lamp (Exodus 27:20) of the Tabernacle to be here alluded to. Chrysostom and Cyrill understand that the lamp here mentioned has a prophetic reference to John the Baptist.” - Cresswell. fte137 The idea of the crown flourishing on the head, seems to have been suggested by the ancient crowns bestowed upon victors;; which consisted of certain species of evergreens, as the bay, laurel, ivy, dive, myrtle, etc.
PSALM 133
fte138 The word brethren is not limited to those who are descended from the same parents; it denotes such as are members of the same community, profess the same holy religion, and are governed by the same institutions. All the people of Israel are in the first instance here addressed.
fte139 Kimchi, Jarchi, and others, instead of “to the skirts,” translate “to the collar of his garment.” This seems to give the true meaning of the original, which implies that the head and beard of Aaron only were anointed, and that the costly sacerdotal robes were thus preserved from an unction, which must inevitably have spoiled them. For an account of this ointment and of its sprinkling on Aaron, and his sons, see Exodus 30:23-25, 30; Leviticus 8:12. When Aaron was consecrated High Priest the oil was poured on him, whilst on the other priests it was only sprinkled.
fte140 There is a mountain called Hermon, which is the highest of the ridge of mountains designated Anti-Lebanon, and which is situated in the northern border of the country beyond Jordan. This, however, is not the mountain supposed to be here intended, but another of the same name lying within the land of Canaan on the west of the river Jordan. It is described by Buckingham as a range of hills running for several miles east and west, and forming the southern boundary of the plain of Esdraelon, overlooked in which Mount Tabor is situated. Maundrell, who, in his journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem had a full view of Tabor and Hermon at about six or seven hours’ distance to the eastward, speaking of the copious dews which fell in that part of the country, says, “We were sufficiently instructed by experience what the Psalmist means by the dew of Hermon, our tents being as wet with it as if it had rained all night.” - Journey. fte141 Calvin gives the construction of these words as it is in the Hebrew text. But to make them intelligible something must be supplied. As Hermon and Zion are many miles distant from each other, it would be absurd to speak of the dews of the former as falling on the latter, not to mention the difficulty of understanding how the dew of one mountain can descend upon another. The translators of our English Bible repeat the words like the dew before which descended; and the insertion of this supplement is fully justified, as it is the most natural way of bringing out an intelligent meaning.
fte142 The particles, µç yk, refer not to Zion, but are put as introducing the reason of the goodness spoken of in <19D301>Psalm 133:1, µyyj.” -
Phillips. Others, as Lowth, maintain that µç must refer to Zion, and that to it the blessing must also refer. “May not µç mean the place wherever brethren dwell together in unity?” — Archbishop Seeker.
fte142A “Les expositeurs laissent passer cette cireonstanee, et mal, comme si David louoit generalement, et sans son propre regard, le consentement fraternel, etc.” - Fr. fte143 “Car a quel propos tireroit - il ceste similitude de l’huile sacree, sinon a ceste fin clue la vraye religion tiene tousjours le premier lieu?” - Ft.
PSALM 134
fte144 “çdq. Some persons render this word as if it were an adverb. So Tilingins has ‘Attollite manus vestras sanete.’ There is no doubt, that lifting up the hands reverently, is the ordinary and proper posture of suppliants at the throne of grace. Farther, St. Paul, in 1 Timothy 2:8, apparently with reference to this passage, speaks of lifting up holy hands. The Septuagint and Syriac, however, have taken the word as a noun, signifying the sanctuary; the former have a[gia.” - Phillips. Warner and Cress, well with Calvin would read “towards the sanctuary;” i.e., towards the holy of holies, where the ark, the symbol of the Divine presence, was fixed.
fte145 “We know generally,” says Fry, “that there was a nightly service in the Temple, (2 Chronicles 21:) and Kimchi, a Jewish writer, represents those who by night stand in the house of the Lord, as holy men who rose from their beds in the night and went to pray in the Temple.” After referring to the case of “Anna, a Prophetess,” he adds, “And St. Paul, before Agrippa, speaking ‘ of the hope of the promise made unto the fathers,’ gives us this remarkable description: ‘unto which our’ twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. There was public service in the Temple at Jerusalem not only by day but by night; which latter service many of the Jews, for whose special use this and the next Psalm seem to have been composed, were in the habit of attending.” - Cresswell. fte146 Ye servants off the Lord, etc., i.e., ye Levites, whose duty it was, according to the Talmudists, to keep watch by night, standing in the Temple: the High Priest was the only one who sat in the Temple. Compare Leviticus 8:35; 1 Chronicles 9:33 Psalm 92:2; <19B9147>Psalm 119:147; Luke 2:37.” - Cresswell.
fte147 “Car a quel propos les hommes eslevent ils les mains en priant, sinon afin qu’ils eslevent aussi leurs esprits a Dieu?” - Ft.
PSALM 135
fte152 “Perhaps the original, hwhy µç wllh, halelu et shem Jehovah, should be translated, Praise ye the namee Jehovah: that is, praise God in his infinite essence, of being, holiness, goodness, and truth.”—Dr. Adam Clarke. fte153 The words ye who stand we have supplied in the second clause, as being necessary to bring out the sense which Calvin attaches to it. The hwhy tyb “the house of Jehovah,” mentioned in the first clause, remarks Men-dlessohn in his Beor, is the place where the priests stood; whilst “the courts” surrounding the temple, referred to in the second clause, were occupied by the people when engaged in their public prayers.
fte154 The name “Jacob” is here put by metonymy for the posterity of Jacob, as is evident from the parallelism of the two members.
fte155 “Et quand on advisera de bien pres aux mots, on y trouvera que le peuple est adjoint, etc.”—Fr.
fte156 “Signifie proprement chose bien seante ou belle: et ce sens general convient mieux.” — Fr.
fte157 “Comme c’est aujourd’huy de tous ceux qu’il adopte en sa bergerie, et ente au corps de son fils unique.” — Fr.
fte158 The heathen who in ancient times worshipped the elements, imagined them to possess the power of giving or withholding rain at pleasure, Referring to this superstitious imagination the Prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 14:22) reclaims that power as peculiar to God who made and governs the world. “Are there among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Art thou not he, O Jehovah, our God? Therefore we will wait upon thee;
for thou hast made all these things.” Among the Greeks and Romans Jupiter was armed with the thunder and the lightning; and AEolus ruled over the winds. Here the Psalmist teaches us to restore the celestial artillery to its rightful owner. The description probably refers to the regular rainy season of autumn which comes on towards the end of September; and Dr. Russell’s account of the weather at Aleppo in that month may be quoted as illustrating the particulars of the verse. “Seldom a night passes,” says he, “without much lightning in the north-west quarter, but not attended with thunder; and, when this lightning appears in the west or south-west points, which is often followed with thunder, it is a sure sign of the approaching rain. A squall of wind, and clouds of dust, are the usual forerunners of these rains.” Thus God may be said to “make lightnings for the rain,” inasmuch as the lightnings in the west and south-west points are, in the East, the sure prognostics of rain; and the squalls of wind which bring on these refreshing showers may be said to be brought for that purpose from “God’s secret places.” From Dr. Russell’s representing “clouds of draft,” as “the usual forerunners of these rains,” Harmer concludes that µyaçn, nesiim, which, in our English Bible is rendered” vapours,” must mean, as they elsewhere translate the word, “clouds.”
fte159 “Tellement qu’il les embrasse et range en leur ordre, afin que sa grandeur ne soit nullement obscurcie par eux.” — Fr.
fte160 “Neantmoins si nous ne voulons arracher tons les rudimens de la vraye religion, ceci doit demeurer ferme,” etc. — Fr.
fte161 “Si ce meslange du fen et de l’eau n’estoit cognu par usage, qui ne diroit que c’est une merveille,” etc. — Fr. fte162 “Comp. Numbers 21; Deuteronomy 2:and Deuteronomy 3; Joshua 12:7, etc. The chiefs of very small communities were in ancient times styled kings; Sihon and Og are particularly enumerated as being (Deuteronomy 3:11; Amos 2:9) of a gigantic race, of prodigious size and strength.” — Cresswell. fte163 “Sed quia praecluso terrae aditu in primis erant formidabiles.” — Lat. “Mais pource qu’ils estoyent les plus a redouter, a cause qu’ils tenoyent l’entree de la terre fermee.” — Fr.
fte164 “Ou, prendra consolation.” — Fr. Marg. “Or, will take comfort.”
fte165 “Le mot de juger selon les Hebrieux,, contient en soy toutes les parties d’un juste et legitime gouvernement. — Fr. fte166 “Some persons take ãa as the adverb in the sense of even; as Kimchi; but the context, and also the corresponding passage in <19B506>Psalm 115:6, show that it has the signification of nose. ˆya, because it is followed by çy, has merely the sense of not. (1 Samuel 21:9.) The meaning of this part of the verse is, that the idols of the heathen have not even breath to pass through the mouth and nostrils.” — Phillips. “ãa: I strongly suspect that a passage beginning with this word (noses have they) has fallen out of the text. It is found in one of Kennicotts MSS., and has been added in later times to the Septuagint.” — Jebb’s Translation of the Psalms, etc., volume 1.
fte167 The hallelujah with which this Psalm in the original text ends, has been transferred by the Septuagint to the title of Psalm 136.
fte168 “Quant et quant aussi il donnoit occasion et matiere de luy chanter louanges.” — Fr.
PSALM 136
fte169 This Psalm is called by the Jews, the Great Thanksgiving.
fte170 “The three first verses of this Psalm contain the three several names of the Deity, which are commonly rendered Jehovah, God, and Lord, respectively; the first having reference to his essence as self-existent, and being his proper name; the second designating him under the character of a Judge or of an all-powerful being, if Aleim be derived from Al; and the third, Adoni, representing him as exercising rule.” — Cresswell. fte171 Jebb observes, that “the 136th Psalm is altogether peculiar in its construction, as it has the recurrence of the same words, ‘ For everlasting is his mercy,’ at the end of every distich.” He adds, that “this elaborate artifice of construction seems characteristic of that later period which comprised the captivity and restoration;” although he at the same time admits, that it is to be found in Psalms of an earlier date than the Baby-lonish captivity, quoting a passage in the account of the dedication of Solomon’s Temple, which informs us, that the whole choir of Israel united in praising God “for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever:” and observing that this expression forms the.commencement of three other Psalms, the Psalm 106, Psalm 107, and Psalm 118. In his remarks on the Psalm 119, after adverting to the alphabetical character of that Psalm, he adds, “There are other artifices of construction observable in the Psalms and Hymns composed in these later ages of the Church. For example, that repetition of the same words and clauses, and the frequent recurrence of a characteristic word, so frequent in the Greater Hallel, [from the Psalm 111 to Psalm 118th, inclusive,] and in the Songs of Degrees: and in a continually recurring burden, in each distich, as in the Song of the three Children, and Psalm 136, which latter is unique in the Psalter. It has been the tendency of the poetry of most countries, in the progress of time, to make its characteristic features depend less upon the exactness of sentimental arrangement, and more upon some external artifice, whether this be prosodial metre, alliteration, rhyme, assonance, or the recurrence of a burthen. Now, though the poetry of the Scriptures, because it was inspired, never declined from the perfection of its sentimental construction, still those artificial contrivances, practiced, indeed, in earlier times, seem to have been more prevalent at the time of the captivity, and the time immediately following, than heretofore. It was probably so ordained, for the purpose of assisting the memories of the Jews, who at Babylon were excluded from the open exercise of their religion, and from public teaching, and, therefore, required more private helps, which could be more easily communicated orally from parents to children, or from masters to disciples.” — Jebb’s Translation of the Psalms, etc., volume 2.
fte172 “Les cieux sont composez d’un si excellent et bel artifice, qu’ils crient que c’est d’une facon admirable qu’ils ont este ornez d’une si plaisante distinction.” — Fr.
fte173 “De mettre ceci entre lents principes et maximes.” — Fr.
fte174 “Dieu en deliverant son peuple n’a point monstre une petite puissance,” etc. — Fr.
fte175 “Dont nous pouvons bien recueillir que l’espace d’entre deux estoit sans aucune separation.” — Fr. fte1fte76 “Sous des logettes de feuilles.” — Fr.
PSALM 137
fte178 By “Babylon” is meant, not the city, but the kingdom; and the mention of rivers, according to the suggestion of Rosenmuller, is because the synagogues were usually built near rivers, for the greater convenience of the Jews, who were obliged to wash their hands before prayer. But as they had no synagogues in Babylon, they might frequent such localities as would, be suitable sites for places of worship, and there in the open air perform divine service. It is conjectured by Chrysostom that the Jewish captives were not suffered at first to dwell in any of their conquerors’ towns or cities, but were dispersed all along several rivers of the country, where they built for themselves tabernacles or cottages.
fte179 It may also be observed that sitting on the ground is a posture which indicates mourning and deep distress. Thus it is said in Isaiah 3:26, where the captivity of the Jews in Babylon is foretold, “And she [υδεά being desolate shall sit upon the ground.” And the Prophet Jeremiah, in portraying the sorrow which afflicted his pious and patriotic countrymen under the desolation of their country, says,
“The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground and keep silence.” (Lamentations 2:10.)
“We find Judea,” says Mr. Addison, “on several coins of Vespasian and Titus in a posture that denotes sorrow and captivity. I need not mention her sitting on the ground, because we have already spoken of the aptness of such a posture to represent an extreme affliction. I fancy the Romans might have an eye on the customs of the Jewish nation, as well as those of their own country, in the several marks of sorrow they have set on this figure. The Psalmist describes the Jews lamenting their captivity in the same pensive posture: ‘ By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept, when we remembered thee, O Zion!’” — Addison on Medals, Dial. 2.
fte180 “On the banks of the Babylonian rivers (say the Euphrates and Tigris) there are no woods or forests, or any considerable trees besides the cultivated date-palm. But these rivers are in some parts rather extensively lined with a growth of tall shrubs and bushes, interspersed with some small, and a few middling trees, amongst which the willow is at this day the most frequet and remarkable.” — Illustrated Commentary upon the Bible. Hence Isaiah 15:7 calls the Euphrates “the brook or river of willows.”
fte181 “It is probable that the Levites, (Ezra 3:40, 41,) who were the singers and the musicians of the temple, had taken their harps with them to Babylon, and that their captors, having heard of their skill in music, demanded of them a specimen of it.” — Cresswell. fte182 “Others have it from. hlt, he suspended, as thought, theydemanded joy on our suspended ones, i.e., harps which we had suspended from the willows.” — Bythner. fte183 “Toutesfois le Sainct Esprit leur met ia comme une barre pour les separer de toute simulation perverse, comme aussi elle emporteroit impiete.” — Fr. fte184 Let my right hand forget. The sentence ends abruptly, and some supplementary word is necessary to render it complete. The Chaldee version, by altering the person of the verb, has avoided the ellipsis, May I forget,my right hand. The Syriac reads, May my right hand forget.me. The Septuagint has a passive verb, viz., ἐπιλησθείν, as if the original were jkçt. Calvin, in his Commentary, makes the same supplement as the translators of our English Bible — Let my right hand forget its cunning; and the correctness of this view is supported by the following verse, where we have, Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, etc. The object of both verses is to express a deep, heart-felt interest in Jerusalem; and should he lose that interest, the Psalmist wishes that the two members of the body, by which both instrumental and vocal music are performed, may be rendered incapable of doing their work — that the tongue may be unable to utter, and the right hand may forget the art of playing, or its cunning. “There here is a striking and appropriate point in this which has been overlooked. It is, that as it is customary for people in the East to swear by their possessions, so one who has no possessions — who is poor and destitute, and has nothing of recognised value in the world — swears by his right hand, which is his whole stake in society, trod by the ‘ cunning’ of which he earns his daily bread. Hence the common Arabic proverb, (given by Burckhardt, No. 550,) reflecting on the change of demeanour produced by improved circumstances: ‘ He was wont to swear by the cutting off of his right hand! He now swears by ‘the giving of money to the poor.’” — Illustrated Commentary upon the Bible. fte185 Bishop Horsley translates, “O daughter of Babylon, that delightest in destruction.”
fte186 “This is not the language of imprecation, but of prophecy, and predicts the horrors which would accompany the taking and sacking of the city of Babylon; and amongst these the atrocious cruelty of ‘ dashing the children against the stones.’ (See Isaiah 13:16; Jeremiah 51:62; Hosea 13:16.) Homer mentions the unnatural practice as not uncommon in ancient times —
*‘Infants dashed* *Against the ground, in dire hostility.’ — I1, 22 5 63.*” *—* Warner.
“Happy he,” etc., is merely declarative of the general opinion which would be reputed happy, would be celebrated as having done good service in the world, by destroying a power so universally hated for its oppression.
fte187 Daughter of Babylon penotes. the inhabitants of the Babylonish empire. The inhabitants of a city or kingdom are frequently spoken of in Scripture as its daughter. (See Psalm 45:13; Isaiah 47:1; Zechariah 9:9.)
fte188 “Il n’entend pas que le service des Perses et Medes ait este agreable a Dieu,” etc. — Fr.
PSALM 138
fte189 Here “O Jehovah” is to be understood. Though it is not in the received Hebrew text, it was found in six copies examined by Dr. Kennicott, and in eight examined by De Rossi. The Septuagint, Arabic, Vulgate, and AEthiopic versions add” Jehovah” after the verb for “praise.” “The omission of the Divine name,” says Jebb, in his Translation of the Psalms, “in a passage like this, at the beginning of the Psalm, is altogether unexampled.”
fte190 By the Hebrew word µyhla, Elohim, translated gods, Calvin understands “angels” or “kings,” but particularly the former. It is however proper to observe that µyhla, Elohim, is one of the names applied to the Supreme Being in the sacred volume, and therefore some critics translate “before God,” which they explain as meaning “before the ark,” where were the sacred symbols of his presence. If after the Hebrew word for “before,” we should suppose “thee” to be understood, the reading would be “before thee, or in thy presence, O God! will I sing praise unto thee.”
fte191 Phillips observes that the force of b, beth, seems to be that of concerning: — “‘The kings of the earth shall sing concerning the ways of the Lord,’ how that they are good and merciful.”
fte192 This Psalm is entitled “a Psalm of David,” and Calvin considers him to be its author agreeably to the title; lint the mention of “the temple” in the second verse seems to render such an opinion doubtful. If, however, we translate this word by “mansion,” which is the proper rendering of the original — “the mansion of thy sanctity:” this objection to its composition by David falls to the ground. In the Septuagint version the title of this Psalm is, “A Psalm of David; of Haggai and Zechariah, when they were dispersed,” (comp. Ezra 5:1); meaning a Psalm of David, used by Haggai and Zechariah.
fte193 According to this mode of rendering the passage lk, cal, the word for all, is independent of ˚mç, shimcha, the word for thy name. But “it has been properly observed by Aben Ezra, that lk in this case should have a Cholem, and not a Kametz Chateph, with which it is found in all copies. Besides, this translation is not supported by any of the ancient versions.” — Phillips. fte194 “Sed hoc ubique fore notum, non alia de causa mirabiliter servatum fuisse a Deo, nisi quod ejus mandate unctus fuerat in Regem.” — Lat.
fte195 “Though I walk — an Hebraism for though I am.” — Cresswell. fte196 “Parfera en moy son oeuvre.” — Fr. “Will perform in me his work.”
fte197 “Ne nons oste le goust de sa bonte, et benignite: d’autre part aussi afin que sa bonte par laquelle il daigne bien s’abbaisser jusques a nons, ne diminue rien de la reverence que nous devons a sa gloire.” — Fr.
fte198 “Il signifie aucunefois Rendre, recompenser, et mesme generalement ottroyer,” etc. — Fr.
PSALM 139
fte199 This Psalm has often been admired for the grandeur of its sentiments, the elevation of its style, as well as the variety and beauty of its imagery. Bishop Lowth, in his 29th Prelection, classes it amongst the Hebrew idyls, as next to the 104th, in respect both to the conduct of the poem, and the beauty of the style. “If it be excelled,” says he, “(as perhaps it is) by the former in the plan, disposition, and arrangement of the matter, it is not in the least inferior in the dignity and elegance of its sentiments, images, and figures.” “Amongst its other excellencies,” says Bishop Mant, “it is for nothing more admirable than for the exquisite skill with which it descants on the perfections of the Deity. The Psalmist’s faith in the omnipresence and omniscience of Jehovah is in the commencement depicted · with a singular and beautiful variety of the most lively expressions: nor,:an anything be more sublime than that accummulation of the noblest and loftiest images, in the 7th and following verses, commensurate with the limits of created nature, whereby the Psalmist labors to impress upon the mind some notion of the infinity of God.” If we compare this sacred poem with any hymn of classical antiquity in honor of the heathen deities, the immense superiority of the sentiments it contains must convince any reasonable person that David and the Israelites, though inferior in other respects to some other nations, surpassed them in religious knowledge. No philosopher of ancient times ever attained to such sublime views of the perfections and moral government of God as the Hebrew Prophets. How are we to account for this difference but on the supposition of the divine origin of the religion of the Hebrews? On any other supposition these Psalms are a greater miracle than any of those recorded by Moses.
Bishop Horsley refers the composition of this Psalm to a later age than that of David. “The frequent Chaldaisms,” says he, “of the diction, argue no very high antiquity.” Dr. Adam Clarke, on the same ground, argues that it was; not written by the sweet singer of Israel, but during or after the time of the captivity. Other critics, however, maintain that the several Chaldaisms to be found in it afford no foundation for such an opinion. “How any critic,” says Jebb, “can assign this Psalm to other than David, I cannot understand. Every line, every thought, every turn of expression and transition is his, and his only. As for the arguments drawn from the two Chaldaisms which occur, (y[br for yxbr, and ˚yr[ for ˚yrx,) this is really nugatory. These Chaldaisms consist merely in the substitution of one letter for another very like it in shape, and easily to be mistaken by a transcriber, particularly by one who had been used to the Chaldee idiom: but the moral arguments for David’s author-ship are so strong as to overwhelm.’my such verbal or rather literal criticism, were even the objections more formidable than they actually are.” — Jebb’s Literal Translation of the Psalms, etc., volume 2.
fte200 C’est par dessus moy et ma capacite.” — Fr. Marg. “That is, above me and my capacity.”
fte201 Piscator, Campensis, Pagninus, Luther, and our English Version, read “thou compassest.” This no doubt gives the meaning, of the original, though not the precise idea, which is noticed on the margin of our English Bible to be “winnowest.” The verb hrz, zarah, employed, signifies to disperse, to fan, to ventilate, to winnow; and here it denotes that as men separate the corn from the chaff, so God separates between, or investigates, the good and the bad in the daily conduct of men. Hence the Septuagint reads ἐξιχνίασας, “thou hast investigated.” Bishop Hare, who renders “thou dost compass,” supposes it to be a metaphor taken from hunting. “Winnowing,” says Archbishop Secker,” would sound uncouth But Mudge hath hit on the word siftest, which, though an idea somewhat different, suits very well.”
fte202 “Fecisti assuescere vias meas.” — Lat. fte203 Thus the Septuagint have έπλασάς me, Thou hast formed me. Similar is the rendering of the Syriac. Those who embrace this view take the verb, as if the root were.rxy, yatsar. “But,” says Phillips, “it is certain that the root of yntrx must be rwx, to afflict, press, besiege. Hence the meaning of the verse is, ‘Thou hast so pressed upon, or
besieged me, both behind and before, that I find there is no escaping from thee; Thou hast placed thy hand upon me, so that I am quite in thy power.’ The whole passage is a figure, representing God’s thorough knowledge of man.” — Phillips. “Thou besettest me behind and before, i.e. thou knowest all my doings as perfectly as if I were begirt by thee on every side.” — Cresswell.
fte204 “Comme mettant la main sur eux pour los arrester par le collet, ainsi qu’on dit, tellement qu’ils ne peuvent bouger le moins du monde qu’il ne le scache.” — Fr.
fte205 Some commentators suppose the third person of the Trinity to be here referred to.
fte206 Or “of the dawn of the morning.” rjç, shachar, the word employed, “is the light which is seen in the clouds before the rising of the sun, and it is like as if it; had wings to fly with haste; for in a moment the dawn of the morning is spread over the horizon, from the end of the east to that of the west.” — Mendlessohn’s Beor. fte207 Dathe understands thy hand of God’s gracious presence to defend the Psalmist; and such may be the meaning of the words. But whether we take them in this sense, or according to Calvin, as expressing man’s being under the power of God, in whatever part of the world he may be, they illustrate the divine omniscience, which Calvin regards as the chief design of the inspired writer.
fte208 C’est plustost que David prononcant ee propos selon son propre sentiment, entend que pourveu qu’il puisse estre par quelqne moyen couvert et cache, il aura quelque peu de bon temps,” etc. — Fr.
fte209 “The usual signification of hnq is, to possess, to acquire; but here it is thought to contain the notion of forming, or creating. The reason of this difference in the sense may be accounted for from the circumstance, that in Arabic there are two verbs to which hnq may correspond, viz., one to possess, and another to form. So in Genesis 14:19, God is said to be ‘ the possessor (hnq) of heaven and earth.’ The Septuagint for hnq, reads o[v έκτισε, who created, and the Vulgate, qui creavit. Again in Proverbs 8:22, for ynnq the Chaldee has ynarb, hath begotten, or created me. From
these and other passages it is evident that hnq was supposed by the ancient interpreters to have the sense of to form, or create; and this meaning seems to be required in the verse before us, which comports with the next verb.” — Phillips.
fte210 The “covering” here spoken of, is illustrated by Job 10:2, where God is said to have “clothed us with skin and flesh, and fenced us with bones and sinews.” “A work so astonishing,” observes Bishop Horne, “that before the Psalmist proceeds in his description of it, he cannot help break ing forth in rapture at the thought: ‘I will praise thee, for! am fearfully and wonderfully made.’”
fte211 “Ou, mon os n’est point cache de toy.” — Fr. marg. “Or, my bone is not hid from thee.”
fte212 “Fearfully and wonderfully made Never was so terse and expressive a description of the physical conformation of man given by any human being. So fearfully are we made, that there is not an action or gesture of our bodies, which does not, apparently, endanger some muscle, vein, or sinew, the rupture of which would destroy either life or health. We are so wonderfully made, that our organization infinitely surpasses, in skill, contrivance, design, and adaptation of means to ends, the most curious and complicated piece of mechanism, not only ever executed ‘by art and man’s device, but ever conceived by the human imagination.” — Warner.
fte213 “The:figure,” says Walford, “is derived from the darkness and obscurity of caverns and other recesses of the earth.”
fte214 “µqr is ‘ to embroider.’” — Phillips. Mant translates the verse thus: —
*“By all, but not by thee unknown,* *My substance grew, and, o’er it thrown,* *The fine-wrought web from nature’s loom,* *All wove in secret and in gloom.”*
And after observing that the foetus is gradually formed and matured for the birth, like plants and flowers under ground, he adds — “ The process is compared to that in a piece of work wrought with a needle, or fashioned in the loom: which, with all its beautiful variety of color, and proportion of figure, ariseth by degrees to perfection, under the hand of the artist, framed according to a pattern lying before him, from a rude mass of silk, or other materials. Thus, by the power and wisdom of God, and after a plan delineated in his book, is a shapeless mass wrought up into the most curious texture of nerves, veins, arteries, bones, muscles, membranes, and skin, most skilfully interwoven and connected with each other, until it becometh a body harmoniously diversified with all the limbs and lineaments of a man, not one of which at first appeared, any more than the figures were to be seen in the ball of silk. But then, which is the chief thing here insisted on by the Psalmist, whereas the human artificer must have the clearest light whereby to accomplish his task, the divine work-master seeth in secret, and effecteth all his wonders within the dark and narrow confines of the womb.” Bishop Lowth supposes that the full force and beauty of the metaphor in this passage will not be understood, unless it is perceived that the Psalmist alludes to the art of embroidery as consecrated by the Jews to sacred purposes, in decorating the garments of the priests and the curtains at the entrance of the tabernacle. “In that most perfect ode, Psalm 139,” says he, “which celebrates the immensity of the omnipresent Deity, and the wisdom of the divine artificer in forming the human body, the author uses a metaphor derived from the most subtle art of Phrygian workmen:
*‘When I was formed in the secret place,* W*h*en *I was wrought with a needle in the depths of the earth.*
Whoever observes this, (in truth he will not be able to observe it in the common translations,)and at the same time reflects upon the wonderful mechanism of the human body, the various amplifications of the veins, arteries, fibres, and membranes; the ‘indescribable texture’ of the whole fabric; may indeed feel the beauty and gracefulness of this welladapted metaphor, but will miss much of its force and sublimity, unless he be apprised that the art of designing in needle-work was wholly dedicated to the use of the sanctuary, and by a direct precept of the divine law, chiefly employed in furnishing’ a part of the sacerdotal habits, and the veils for the entrance of the tabernacle. (Exodus 28:39; Exodus 26:36; Exodus 27:16; compare Ezekiel 16:10, 13, 18.) Thus the poet compares the wisdom of the divine artificer with the most estimable of human arts — that art which was dignified by being consecrated altogether to the use of religion; and the workmanship of which was so exquisite, that even the sacred writings seem to attribute it to a supernatural guidance. See Exodus 35:30-35.” — Lowth’s Lectures on the Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews, volume 1.
fte215 “Que sera-ce donc quand on viendra a contempler par le menu chacune partie?” — Fr. fte216 “They (my members) have been daily formed, or forming. They were not formed at once, but gradually; each day increasing in strength and size. This expression is probably parenthetical, so that the last words of the verse will refer to the writing of those things previously mentioned in God’s register.” — Phillips. fte217 “The meaning is,” says Warner, “there was a time when none of those curious parts, of which my form consists, existed. The germ of them all was planted by thee in the first instance; and gradually matured, by thy power, wisdom, and goodness, into that wonderful piece of mechanism which the human form exhibits.” Phillips gives a different turn to the clause: “And not one of them, or among them, was omitted. Not one of the particulars concerning my formation has been left out of thy record.”
fte218 “Je les ay tenus pour mes ennemis.” — Fr. “I have held them as my enemies.”
fte219 “Via seculi.” — Lat. “En la voye du siecle.” — Fr. On the margin of the French Commentary there is the following note — “ C’est, de ce monde;” — “ That is, of this world.”
fte220 “Car le mot Hebrieu duquel il use en ce passage ne signifie pas indifferemment tout peche, mais douleur et fascherie,” etc. — Fr. “Any way of wickedness — the word rendered after the Septuagint by wickedness means both sorrow, mischief; and idol: the former is probably the sense in which the Psalmist here uses it, a way of sorrow is a way productive of sorrow, or tending to sorrow, as is the case (Psalm 1:7) with every wicked way.” — Cresswell. fte221 On the margin of the French Commentary Calvin refers to Joshua 23:14.
PSALM 140
fte222 “The word ‘man’ in these two lines is expressed in the first by µda (homo,) in the second by çya (vir.)” — Jebb’s Translation of the Psalms, etc., volume 1.
Fte223 Mant translates —
*“The* *serpent’s brandished tongue is theirs.”*
“The verb,” says he, “here rendered ‘brandished,’ signifies either ‘to whet, sharpen,’ which is performed by reiterated motion or friction, or to ‘vibrate.’ In either case the metaphor, as applied to a wicked tongue, is beautiful and appropriate. I have preferred the latter as affording a more poetical image. See Parkhurst on ˆnç, 3.” In illustration of this figure Kimchi observes, that “the serpent when it comes to bite will open its mouth, and will hiss, and move its tongue here and there as if it would make it sharp as a barber’s razor.”
Fte224 The original word bwçk[, achshub, rendered “asp,” is to be found in Scripture only in this place; and though it evidently denotes some of the serpent tribe, it is not so easy to determine the particular species intended. In our English Bible it is translated “adder,” and as the word is derived from an Arabic verb, which signifies to coil up, or bend back, it has been said that this act perfectly corresponds with the nature of the adder, which in preparing to strike contracts itself into a spiral form, and raises its horrid head from the middle of the orb; and which also assumes the same form when it goes to sleep, coiling its body into a number of circles, with its head in the center. — (Paxton’s Illustrations of Scripture, vol. i. p. 428.) But the same action is common to most serpents; and this name may, therefore have reference to no particular species. Some, however, contend that it is another name for the pethem, or asp mentioned in Job 20:14, the venom of which is so deadly as to be incurable and followed by speedy death, unless the wounded part is amputated. Such seems to have been the opinion of the LXX., as they render it by aspiv, in which they are followed by the Vulgate and by the Apostle Paul, who quotes this text in Romans 3:13. Calvin here adopts the word sanctioned by these authorities.
“As to the poison, it will be observed, that in the venomous serpents there is a gland under the eye secreting the poisonous matter which is conveyed in a small tube or canal to the end of a fang which lies concealed at the roof of the mouth. This fang is moveable at the pleasure of the serpent, and is protruded when it is about to strike at an antagonist. The situation of this poison, which is in a manner behind the upper lip, gives great propriety to the expression — ‘Adders’ poison is under their lips.’ The usage of the Hebrew language, renders it by no means improbable that the fang itself is called ˆwçl, lashon, ‘a tongue,’ in the present text; and a serpent might be said to sharpen its tongue, when in preparing to strike it protruded its fangs. We do not see any explanation by which a more consistent meaning may be extracted from the expression here employed.” — Illustrated Commentary upon the Bible.
Fte225 The imagery in this verse is borrowed from the practices of hunters and fowlers in the eastern regions of the world, who are accustomed to take and destroy the ferocious beasts and the larger species of birds by a variety of ingenious snares and devices. It is a curious circumstance, as noticed by Thevenot, that artifices of this kind are literally employed against men as well as against birds and wild beasts by some of the Orientals. “The cunningest robbers in the world,” says he, as quoted by Mant, “are in this country. They use a certain slip, with a running noose, which they cast with so much slight about a man’s neck when they are within reach of him, that they never fail, so that they strangle him in a trice.”
Fte226 That is, in the day of battle, in the day of the clashing or noisy collision of arms.
Fte227 In the French version it is, as in our English Bible — “Fosses profondes;” “deep pits.” The Hebrew word, according to Parkhurst, properly means breaches or disruptions of the earth, such as are made by an earthquake. He conceives that the Psalmist alludes to the punishment of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and of the two hundred and fifty men who burnt incense. (Numbers 16:31-35.) See Parkhurst on rmh. Bishop Horsley, who concurs with Parkhurst in the supposed allusion, translates chasms of the yawning earth,
observing that he cannot otherwise than by this periphrasis express the idea of the word twrmhm.
Fte228 “The desires which the wicked have for my destruction.” — Phillips.
Fte229 “Car il pourreit estre que l’ordre des mots seroit renverse, et que le nombre singulier seroit mis pour le pluriel, en ce sens,” etc. — Fr.
Fte230 “The meaning of the verse may be, that the mischief designed by the wicked against others shall fall on their own head, as Psalm 7:17, ‘his violence shall descend on his own head;’ or it may express the leader of the hostile party, as Saul or Doeg, in the case of David being here the speaker.” — Phillips.
Fte231 çya is the word for man in both these clauses.
Fte232 “A man, of tongue, i.e., of evil tongue; a slanderer or detractor.” — Phillips. The Bible translation renders the phrase “an evil speaker; “ and the Chaldee Paraphrase has “the man of detraction, with a threeforked tongue;” because such a man wounds three at once — the receiver, the sufferer, and himself.
PSALM 141
fte233 Many commentators are strongly of opinion, that this Psalm was written as a memorial of that very interesting scene in the life of David, recorded in 1 Samuel 24, relating to his generous treatment of Saul. Though he had an opportunity of putting that his cruel persecutor to death in the cave of En-gedi, yet he spared his life, only cutting off his skirt, and not suffering his followers to touch him; and when Saul had gone out of the cave, David going out after him, remonstrated with him from some distance in the gentlest and most respectful language in regard to the injustice of his conduct towards him. It is thought that the sixth verse contains so express a reference to this very remarkable occurrence in David’s history, as to leave little doubt that it was the occasion on which the Psalm was composed.
Fte234 As, here and in the preceding clause, is a supplement, very properly made by our author; a word signifying like, or in the stead of, being frequently understood in the Hebrew text of the Psalms.
Fte235 The allusion, according to the opinion of most commentators, is to the morning and evening sacrifices, of which see an account in Exodus 29:38-42. In the phraseology of the verse it. is supposed that there is a reference to the commencing and concluding acts of the daily public worship among the Jews. Every morning and evening the priests offered incense upon the incense-altar which stood in the holy place, while the people prayed without. But in the morning the incense was offered before the sacrifice was laid upon the altar of burnt-offering; whereas in the evening (at the ninth hour) it was offered after the sacrifice was laid upon the altar; and thus in the evening the sacrifice and the incense were offered at the same time. See Lightfoot’s Temple Service, chapter 9:section 5. Dr. Adam Clarke, however, thinks that David does not refer to any sacrifice; “for,” says he, “he uses not jbz, zebach, which is almost universally used for a slaughtered animal, tjnm, minchath, which is generally taken for a gratitude offering, or an unbloody sacrifice.” He translates the last two words “the evening oblation.”
Fte236 “Car pource que lors Dieu vouloit que les prieres des fideles fussent sanctifiees par encensement et par sacrifices, David s’appuye sur ceste promesse.” — Fr.
Fte237 “C’est a dire qu’il ne s’enyure de la vaine douceur qu’ils out en se desbordant a mal, et qu’ainsi il ne s’esgaye en pechez.” — Fr.
Fte238 “As one cutting and slitting. Many persons understand µyx[, wood, after these participles, supposing the comparison of scattering the bones to be made with the scattering of wood after it has been cleft. But it is more probable that what the Psalmist intended to say was in substance as follows: ‘Our bones lie scattered at the edge of the grave, just as one cutting and cleaving the earth in making a grave often throws up bones, which may be seen scattered here and there with the earth lying at its sides.’ The verse is poetical, and the figure indicates great distress.” — Phillips.
Fte239 “Que l’huile de la teste ne rompe point ma teste, c’est a dire, que les meschans ne m’amadouent point par leurs flatteries a ma perdition et ruine.” Fr.
Fte240 Those who understand this verse as containing an allusion to the generous manner in which David acted towards Saul in the cave of Engedi, and to his mild expostulation after they had both left the cave, translate thus: —
*“Their princes on the sides of the rock were dismissed,* or *let go* in safety*; And they heard my words that they were pleasant.”*
This exactly corresponds with the occurrences referred to. In correspondence with the first line, it, is said in 1 Samuel 24:2, that Saul and his chosen men went to seek David upon the rocks of the wild goats; and the terms in which David expostulated with Saul, were so gentle, dutiful and affecting, as for the time to melt into tenderness and contrition the heart of Saul, and to impress the minds of all who heard them.
Fte241 If David here refers to the treatment he and his followers met with at the hands of Saul, this exhibits in dark colors the extreme inhumanity of that monarch. “We are not sufficiently informed,” says Walford, “respecting the cruelties which were perpetrated against David and those who adhered to him, to enable us to point out the instances to which he here alludes; but the murder of Abimelech, and of the priests who were with him, furnishes a pregnant proof of the atrocities which Saul and his agents were capable of perpetrating. (See 1 Samuel 22.) It appears from the language of this verse that such enormities were not confined to a few cases, but must have been numerous, to give occasion to the image which is employed to describe them.” How striking the contrast between David’s treatment of Saul, and that which Saul adopted towards him! Mr. Peters in his Dissertations on Job, gives an exposition of this 7th verse which is ingenious, and which Archbishop Secker calls “admirable, though not quite unexceptionable.” Understanding the verse as referring to the slaughter of the priests at Nob, just now adverted to, he renders the words ypl lwaç, (which Calvin translates, at the grave’s mouth,) at the mouth, that is, at the command of Saul. In. support of this translation he produces similar expressions, h[rp yp l[, at the command of Pharaoh, (Genesis 45:21,) and ˚yp l[, at thy command. (Job 39:17.) To this rendering there is, however, this strong objection, that we do not find David ever mentioning Saul by name in any of the Psalms. Peters, indeed, states that this objection was offered to him against his view, and he endeavors to remove it, though, as we think, with indifferent success.
Fte242 “Jusques a ce que je passe.” — Fr. “Until I pass.”
Fte243 “C’est le propre de la foy de rassembler lessens de la personne dispersez, lequels autrement s’esvanouiroyent a chacun coup.” —Fr.
PSALM 142
Fte244 In the history of David we read particularly of the two caves in which he took shelter, that of Adullam, (1 Samuel 22:1,) and that of En-gedi, (1 Samuel 24:3.) The latter is generally supposed to be the cave here fte245 In the Hebrew the verb is in the future — “I will cry;” but as that language has no present tense, it frequently uses for it the past and future promiscuously. Bishop Horne, therefore, renders in the present all the verbs in this Psalm, which Calvin translates in the past, except the verbs in the two first verses, which he renders in the future. Translators, however, in general concur with Calvin, and we think justly, the Psalm, as we conceive, being a recollection of the substance of the prayers he addressed to God while in the cave of En-gedi, but which it cannot be supposed he had then an opportunity of committing to writing.
Fte246 “Or c’est une belle similitude quand il dit que son esprit a este en tortille et enveloppe,” etc. — Fr.
Fte247 The allusion here, it is supposed, is to the observances of the ancient Jewish courts of judicature, in which the advocate, as well as the accuser, stood on the right hand of the accused. (<19A905>Psalm 109:5.) The Psalmist felt himself in the condition of one who had nobody to plead his cause, and to protect him in the dangerous circumstances in which he was placed.
PSALM 143
fte248 To the title “A Psalm of David,” some copies of the Septuagint and the Vulgate add — “when his son Absalom pursued him,” (see 2 Samuel 17:24, 25;) and interpreters in general agree that this is the most probable occasion on which it was penned.
Fte249 Walford thinks there is probably here a reference to the great transgression, the consequences of which followed David all his days. “As he would not fail to be reminded of it,” says that writer, “by the sorrows which had now come upon him, from Absalom’s misconduct, and as his purpose was, notwithstanding, to implore divine support and deliverance, he deprecates God’s righteous judgment, since if no man could be just with God, certainly he, who had so greatly transgressed, could have no claim to such a state. The consciousness of his guilt, though he had reason to believe it was forgiven, induced him thus to abase himself before God, when he was about to offer earnest entreaties for deliverance from dangers which threatened his dignity and life; while he still maintained his hope, that God looked upon him as his servant, whom he had pledged himself to protect.”
Fte250 µlw[ ytmk. These words are differently rendered in the ancient versions. The Septuagint has ὡς νεκροὺς aijwnov, as the dead of the age; the Syriac, forever; the Chaldee, as they that lie down of that age. The real sense of the expression is, as they who have been dead a long time. The Psalmist employs hyperbolical language in this verse; he says, the enemy hath beaten his life to the ground, hath made him dwell in dark places, and for such a length of time, that there remained no remembrance of him, and that he had become like those persons who had long since been in their graves. The design of all this is to express emphatically great sorrow and oppression.” — Phillips.
Fte251 In the Book of Common Prayer it is — “My soul gaspeth unto thee as a thirsty land.” Mant translates similarly. The word gaspeth is a supplement, but it may convey the precise meaning; and according to this view the allusion is to the cracking of the lands of the east, in consequence of the extreme drought of the summer months. These dry lands, as has been noticed by travelers, have often chinks too deep for
a person to see to the bottom of. This may be observed in the Indies more than anywhere, a little before the autumnal rains fall, and, wherever the lands are rich and hard. See Jeremiah 14:4.
Fte252 In our English Bible the verbs “quicken,” “scatter,” and “destroy,” are in the imperative mood; but Calvin renders them in the future tense. In this he is followed by Dr. Hammond and Bishop Horne; “and then,” as this last commentator remarks, “the Psalm will end as usual, with an act of faith and assurance that all those mercies which have been asked shall be obtained.”
Fte253 Que Dieu quand il commence a traitter ses serviteurs plus doucement, fait (par maniere de dire) luire un jour nouveau. — Fr.
Fte254 “Je confesse bien que le mauvais esprit de Dieu agite et transporte les reprouvez, (car Dieu execute ses jugemens par les diables,)” etc. — Fr.
PSALM 144
fte255 The ideas and the phraseology of a considerable part of this Psalm appear to be borrowed from the eighteenth.
Fte256 The occasion on which this Psalm was written can only be conjectured. The Septuagint, Vulgate, Aethiopic, and Arabic versions entitle it “A Psalm of David against Goliah;” and that the Chaldee paraphrast took this to be the subject of the Psalm is evident from his reading in verse 10th, “the sword of Goliah.” Judging, however, from internal evidence, the enemies referred to seem rather to be those of David and his kingdom, after he ascended the throne. Some refer the Psalm to David’s war with the Ammonites and Syrians, recorded in 2 Samuel 10.; and it may have been composed by him when about to encounter these hostile powers.
Fte257 “Ou, mon rocher.” — Fr. marg. “Or, my rock.”
Fte258 Those who conjecture that µym[, amim, is the correct reading, refer to the parallel passage in Psalm 18:47, where the word is in the plural. They also observe in support of their opinion, that this reading is actually found in a great number of MSS. examined by Kennieott and De Rossi; and they account for ym[, ami, having got into the text by supposing that it was written in the first instance as a contraction for µym[, amim. Rosenmuller supposes, but with less probability, that the original word was µ[, and that the letter y, yod, is paragogic, that is, has been annexed to improve the sound; µ[, am, being taken collectively. The Masorets have noticed that µ[, which the translators of our English Bible took to be µ[, with its possessive affix here, in 2 Samuel 22:44, and Lamentations 3:14, and consequently rendered by my people, is to be taken as the plural number of that noun.
Fte259 “Et mesmes combion qu’en espluchant la nature des hommes il eust peu toucher d’autres choses, pour lesquelles ils sont indignes. — neantmoins,” etc. — Fr.
Fte260 “Bow thy heavens. This expression is derived from the appearance of the clouds during a tempest: they hang low, so as to obscure the hills and mountains, and seem to mingle heaven and earth together. Such an appearance is figuratively used to depict the coming of God, to execute vengeance upon the enemies of his people. See Psalm 18:10, and other instances.” — Walford.
Fte261 The verbs in this and the two following verses are in the imperative mood, whereas in the corresponding passages in the eighteenth Psalm they are in the past tense. This difference is best accounted for by supposing, with Calvin, that these verses are the language of prayer, uttered by David in a time of threatened danger from the enemies of his kingdom and people; whilst those of the eighteenth Psalm were spoken after some signal deliverance or deliverances had been vouchsafed.
Fte262 “Scatter them. The antecedent of ‘them’ is ‘peoples’ in verse second.” — Walford.
Fte263 “In taking an oath the right hand was lifted up. The enemies of David profaned their oaths by violating the covenants into which they entered, and breaking their solemn engagements.” — Walford.
Fte264 “The meaning is, the hands with which they confirm their treaties of peace and leagues of friendship are immediately lifted up against the lives and liberties of their allies.” — Warner.
Fte265 In the French version it is — “Upon the psaltery, and upon an instrument of ten strings.” It is evident that Calvin supposed two instruments to be here mentioned. This, however, has been doubted. The rendering in the Hebrew text is — rwç[ lbnb, benebel asor, “with a nobel (or psaltery, as the term is translated in our English Bible) ten (stringed).” Thus only one musical instrument may be indicated — “the psaltery of. ten strings.” In Psalm 33:2, we read similarly, rwç[ lbnb, benebel asor, “with the psaltery ten (stringed).” In Psalm 42:3, however, nebel and asor are represented as two distinct musical instruments. We there read, lbnAAyl[w rwç[Aayl[, ale-asor veale-nabel, “upon the asor or ten (stringed instrument), and upon the nebel or psaltery.” But whatever inference may be drawn from the independent exhibition of asor in that text, yet in the passage before us, and in Psalm 33:2, if we may judge from the construction, it seems rather to represent the number of strings of the common nebel or psaltery, or a particular variety of that instrument, than to be a distinct musical instrument. With respect to the Hebrew nebel from which comes the nablov; of the Greeks, and the nablum of the Latins, our information is very limited and indistinct. It is supposed to have been a stringed instrument of the harp or lyre kind, and appears to have been of the triangular form. As it is not noticed in Scripture earlier than the days of David, it is not considered of equal antiquity with some other musical instruments. It was formed of precious wood, as we learn from 1 Kings 10:12, and ultimately, according to Josephus, of that species of precious mixed metal called electrum. From its being never mentioned in the Sacred Writings, except in connection with the worship of the sanctuary, it has been conjectured that it was not used in private, and that it was probably larger, and more costly, than other instruments of a similar kind. Josephus says that it was played upon with the fingers, and had twelve strings. The number of strings may, however, have varied according to circumstances.
Fte266 “The paraphrase of Bishop Patrick, doubtless, conveys the real meaning: ‘Tall and beautiful, like those polished pillars which are the ornaments of a palace.’” — Illustrated Commentary upon the Bible. “The polished corners of the Temple — rather, the sculptured angles, the ornament of a palace. Great care and much ornament were bestowed by the ancients upon the angles of their splendid edifices. It is remarkable that the Greeks made use of pilasters, called Caryatides, (carved after the figure of a woman dressed in long robes,) to support the entablatures of their buildings.” Cresswell.
Fte267 “Ou, produisans, fournissans.” — Fr, marg. “Or, producing, providing.”
Fte268 In the East sheep are remarkably fruitful, bringing forth, as Boehart shows, not only two at a time, (Song 4:2,) but sometimes three or four, and that twice a year. This accounts for the prodigious number of sheep which whitened the extensive pastures of Syria and Canaan. See 2 Kings 3:4; 1 Chronicles 5:21; 2 Chronicles 35:7; Psalm 65:14.
Fte269 “In our streets. Streets are not proper places for sheep. The word
twxwj, chutzoth, is different from that properly rendered ‘streets’ in the ensuing verse, and is the same that is translated ‘fields’ in
Job 5:10. The word literally means ‘outplaces,’ and as such is
susceptible of various applications; in the present text it probably denotes the outpastures in the commons and deserts.” Illustrated Commentary upon the Bible.
Fte270 “Ou, gras” — Fr. marg. “Or, fat.”
Fte271 “Grant that our sons may be as plants,” etc. Such is the view taken by the Translators of the English Bible.
Fte272 wnywzm, Our garners. This word is to be found in Scripture only once, but it has most probably the same root as tywz, and it may denote primarily our corners, and then our garners; because garners or storehouses were usually at the ends or corners of edifices.” — Phillips.
Fte273 Literally, “from kind to kind.”
Fte274 µylbsm, burdened, viz. with flesh, according to Pagninus, who has onusti carne. The root is lks, and the form is the pual participle, which occurs only in this place. Compensis has paraphrased it: santi et ferendis oneribus apti. Perhaps burdened oxen may be a phrase equivalent to our beasts of burden such as are strong and adapted to carry burdens; and here the prayer of the Psalmist is, that they may be eminently fitted for this service.” — Phillips.
PSALM 145
Fte275 This Psalm is with much propriety entitled “Praise of David; “ for it is throughout a continued celebration of the perfections and doings of God. It is certainly one of the most interesting and beautiful of the compositions of the sweet singer of Israel; and so high an opinion did the ancient Hebrews form of it that they were wont to say — “Whoever utters this Psalm thrice each day with the heart and tongue is a happy man, and shall infallibly enjoy the blessings of the world to come.” The time and occasion of its composition can only be conjectured. Dr. Morison thinks it probable that it was composed by David when he and the nation of Israel obtained the blessings which he implored in the preceding Psalm; and that it is that new song which he purposed to sing (<19E409>Psalm 144:9) when God appeared in glory for his chosen people. This is the last of the alphabetical Psalms. The first verse commences with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the second verse with the second letter, and so on to the close, with the exception that the hemistich of which n, nun, was the commencing letter is wanting. The other alphabetical Psalms are Psalm 25, Psalm 34, Psalm 37, Psalm 111, Psalm 112, Psalm 119.
Fte276 The Jewish government was a theocracy.
Fte277 “In seculum et usque.” — Lat. The original Hebrew words are d[w µly[l, leolam vaad, which Dr. Adam Clarke had translated “for ever and onward in this and the coming world.” “These sorts of expressions,” he adds, “are very difficult to be translated.”
Fte278 “Ou, parleray.” — Fr. marg. “Or, will speak of.”
Fte279 After this verse two lines appear to have been lost in the Hebrew text. The Psalm, as we have said before, is alphabetical; and each stanza begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet in regular order, till we come to <19E514>Psalm 145:14, when a break — the only one in the Psalm — takes place. <19E513>Psalm 145:13 begins with the letter m, mem, and <19E514>Psalm 145:14 with the letter s, samech. Thus the stanza beginning with the letter, n, nun, is wanting. it is thus supplied in the Septuagint: Πιστὸς Κύριος ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς λόγοις αὐτοῦ καὶ o[siov ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς έργοις αὐτοῦ. “Faithful is Jehovah in all his words, and holy in all his works.” Dr. Adam Clarke, after observing that there is not a verse answering to n, nun, in any of the printed copies of the Hebrew Bible, states, that there is one MS., now in Trinity College, Dublin, which has it thus (he supposes by correction) at the bottom of the page:
wyç[m lkb dysjw wyrbd lkb hwhy ˆman
*Neeman Yehovah be-cal debaraiv; ve-chasid be-cal maasaiv.*
This exactly corresponds with the reading in the Septuagint. “Nothing,” says Dr. Lowth in Merrick’s Annotations on the Psalms, “can be more certain than the genuineness of the verse n which the Septuagint has preserved, varying only in two words from <19E517>Psalm 145:17.”
Fte280 “Si la bonte de Dieu ne surmonte cest empeschement, c’est en vain que les Prophetes traitteroyent de sa grace et misericorde.” — Fr.
Fte281 “µylpn nophelim, the falling, or those who are not able to keep their feet — the weak. He shores them up — he is their prop. No man falls through his own weakness merely; if he rely on God, the strongest foe cannot shake him.” — Dr. Adam Clarke.
Fte282 “Il ne sera point mal connenable que l’affection soit yei mise pour la chose mesme.” — Fr.
Fte283 “Les autres voudroyent qu’il fust sujet a eux: les autres comme par maniere d’acquit cerchent cluelque moyen de l’appaiser,” etc. — Fr.
PSALM 146
fte284 In the original Hebrew and in the Chaldee paraphrase, no author’s name is prefixed to this Psalm: in the Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, AEthiopic, and Arabic versions it is ascribed to Haggai and Zechariah. Upon the supposition that it was written by these Prophets its composition would be after the captivity; “and it may refer,” says Dr. Adam Clarke, “to the time when Cyrus, prejudiced by the enemies of the Jews, withdrew his order for the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, to which revocation of the royal edict the <19E603>Psalm 146:3 may refer, ‘Put not your trust in princes,’ etc.” Horsley, proceeding on the same view, entitles it, “A thanksgiving of the returning captives.” There is, however, nothing in it which prohibits us from looking upon it as a Psalm of David.
Fte285 Horsley prefers translating “his false deceitful show,” instead of “his thoughts.” He observes, that the original word is literally “his glitterings.” Parkhurst would render the original word “splendours, glories,” “which,” says he, “makes an excellent sense.”
Fte286 That is, with the word “Hallelujah,” the Hebrew for “Praise Jehovah.” Hence they have been called, “Hallelujah Psalms.”
Fte287 In our English Bible it is “openeth the eyes of the blind.” From this clause some of the ancients concluded that the whole of the attributes here enumerated are intended to apply to Christ. Bishop Horne, and other modern divines, entertain the same opinion. But though all that is here said may with the strictest truth be predicated of Christ, the propriety of restricting the interpretation of the Psalm to him, upon the slender ground specified, may be doubted. Walford translates this clause — “Jehovah delivereth them that are in darkness.” “There is no word,” says he, “in Hebrew to correspond with the ‘eyes’ of the English Bible; and it is more in agreement with the parallelism of the verse, to understand this clause of persons who are in distress and adversity, expressed by being in darkness.”
Fte288 “Qui saepe frenum rodendo, malunt putrescere in suis miseriis, quam ad certum hoe asylum se conferre.” — Lat.
PSALM 147
Fte289 In the Hebrew text, and in the Chaldee and Vulgate versions, this Psalm is without a title, but in the Septuagint it is assigned to the days of Haggai and Zephaniah, the title being — Allelouia Aggaiou kai Zacariou; and this may be regarded as a probable reference. In <19E702>Psalm 147:2 and <19E713>Psalm 147:13 there seems to be an allusion to the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Bishop Horsley entitles it — “Thanksgiving of the returned captives. Perhaps composed for a Pentecost or Feast of Trumpets, after the Restoration.” “Eben Ezra, and other Jewish writers, think that it foretells the future rebuilding of Jerusalem, and the restoration of the Jews from their present captivity, and refer it to the times of Messiah.” — Dr. Gill.
Fte290 The Hebrew word here is rwnk, kinnor. It is uniformly translated “harp” by Calvin, and also by the translators of our English Bible. But as is supposed by Calmet and others, it more probably corresponded with the lyre of Egypt, Greece, and Rome. In the Septuagint it is usually either thrown into the Greek form kinura, cinyra, or rendered kiqara, cithara, one of the various names by which the principal varieties of the ancient lyres were distinguished. And where these are not the words by which it is rendered in that version, it is rendered by other names which the Greeks gave to different forms of the lyre. From this it is evident that the translators of the Greek version believed that rwnk kinnor, denoted the lyre, although from their translating it by different words, each signifying a particular variety of that instrument, they were uncertain as to the particular species of lyre. “The brief intimations in Scripture are in full accordance with this statement; for it is not described as such an instrument — large, heavy, and resting on the ground when played — as the word ‘harp’ suggests to our minds; but as a light portable instrument, which the player carried in his hand or on his arm, and might walk or dance the while. In fact, Scripture describes the kinnor as being used in such a manner and on such occasions as we know the lyre to have been by the ancients, who indeed had not, so far as we know, any harps large and resting on the ground like ours. We speak only of the Greeks and Romans, however, for the Egyptians had large standing harps; from which we shall in a future note take occasion to conclude that such were also known to the Hebrews, while we retain our impression that the lyre is denoted by the kinnor.” — Illustrated Commentary upon the Bible. The kinnor is an instrument of the highest antiquity, being one of those two invented by Jubal before the flood. Genesis 4:21. It was used at an early period on festal occasions, as appears from the next instance in which it is mentioned in Scripture, six hundred years after the deluge, namely, in Laban’s words to Jacob, as recorded in Genesis 31:27. It was also used by the prophets in their sacred music, as we learn from the next instance in which it is noticed — in the time of Samuel, 1 Samuel 10:5. The notes of the kinnor might be mournful, (Isaiah 16:11;) but they were also cheerful, (Job 21:2; Job 30:31; 1 Samuel 16:23; <19D702>Psalm 137:2.) This musical instrument was constructed of wood, 1 Kings 10:12; and it no doubt was to be found among the Hebrews of different forms and power, and varying in the number of strings. The ancient lyres were either played with the fingers, or struck with a plectrum, an instrument which appears generally to have consisted of a piece of ivory, polished wood, or metal, in the form of a quill.
Fte291A “After this clause the Vulgate, the Septuagint, AEthiopic, Arabic, and Anglo-Saxon add, ‘and herb for the service of man.’ It appears that a hemistich or half line has been lost from the Hebrew text, which, according to the above version, must have stood as in <19A414>Psalm 104:14.” — Dr. Adam Clarke.
Fte292A “Car quant a la fable que les Juifs racontent, que les corbeaux laissent leur petits si tost qu’ils sont esclos,” etc. — Fr.
FTe293A We learn from Chardin in a manuscript note on this passage, as quoted by Harmer in his Observations, that towards the Black Sea, in Iberia and Armenia, and therefore he imagines in other countries also, “the snow falls in flakes as big as walnuts; but not being either hard or very compact, it does no other harm than presently to cover and overwhelm the traveller.” The inspired writer had probably seen flakes of equal size on the mountains of Judea; and this would suggest to his mind the strikingly appropriate figure, “He giveth his snow like wool.”
FTe294A Walford translates, “He casteth down his ice in hail-stones.” “The expression, ‘like morsels,’“ says he, “is a literal version of the Hebrew, but it gives so imperfect and obscure a representation of the meaning, as to induce the substitution which is here found. There can be no doubt but that hail is the thing intended: in this the critics are unanimous. It is most likely that the Hebrew term, which is translated ‘morsels,’ means small pieces of some substance, which we cannot now determine.”
FTe295A “The cold is sometimes extremely severe and even mortal in Palestine and the neighboring countries. Fulchirius Carnotensis, as cited by Mr. Harmer, ‘saw the cold prove deadly to many. Jacobus de Vitriaco informs us, that the same thing happened to many of the poorer people, engaged in an expedition in which he himself was concerned, against Mount Tabor: they had suffered severely the preceding days by cold; but on the 24th of December it was so sharp that many of the poor people, and of the beasts of burden, actually died. Albertus Acquensis tells us the same thing happened to thirty of the people that attended King Baldwin I., in the mountainous districts of Arabia by the Dead Sea, where they had to conflict with horrible hail, with ice, and unheard of snow and rain.’ These citations, as Harmer appositely remarks, may remove our wonder at such passages as that here commented on, in a hymn composed in those warmer climates.” — Mant.
PSALM 148
fte296A Milton, in his Paradise Lost, (Lib. 5. line 53, etc.,) has elegantly imitated this Psalm, and put it into the mouth of Adam and Eve as their morning hymn in a state of innocency.
Fte297A “Que les estoilles sont plus haut que les planetes, et qu’icelles planetes sont situees en divers cercles ou spheres.” — Fr.
Fte298A “Laudate Iehovam e terra.” — Lat. “Louez le Seigneur, vous creatures de la terre.” — Fr.
Fte299A “Ou, balenes.” — Fr. marg. “Or, whales.”
PSALM 149
fte291 “The Jewish government was a Theocracy, which commenced at the time of the departure from Egypt; and continued in some degree till the coming of Christ, as had been foretold by Jacob, Genesis 49:10.” — Dimock. fte292 In our English Bible it is in the text, “in the dance;” and on the margin, “or with the pipe.” lwjm machol, the Hebrew word employed, is often in our authorized version rendered “dance”; but this is not its meaning. It denotes, as Parkhurst states, “some fistular wind instrument of music, with holes, as a flute, pipe or fife, from lj, chal
to make a hole or opening.” “I know no place in the Bible.” Says Dr. Adam Clark, “where lwjm, mechol, and tljm, mechalath, mean dance of any kind; they constantly mean some kind of pipe.”
fte293 The Hebrew name for this kind of this musical instrument is ãt, toph. The timbrel, tympanum, or tambourine, was used chiefly by women, and was employed in choral dances, or occasions of religious or festal processions. Thus we read in Exodus 15:20, 21, “And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and dances. And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.” The principle of the ãp, toph, or timbrel was that of a prepared skin stretched upon a hoop or frame. There were various kinds or forms of this instrument. “Our common tambourine, with small cymbals inserted in the frame, also appears in some paintings, [of Egyptian and European antiquity,] and is now very common in Western Asia. We are told that the frame was either of metal or wood and that the ass’s skin was usually employed for the covering. They were not always played by the naked hand; but were sometimes struck with small batons, or with a knotty whip with many thongs, instead of which, on particular festivals, a sprig of some tree or plant, considered suitable to the occasion, was sometimes employed.” — Illustrated Commentary upon the Bible. The timbrel is evidently of oriental origin. From the reference to it in Genesis 31:27, where ãt is translated “tabret,” we learn that it was known in the time of Jacob, that is, ages previous to the existence of the great European nations of antiquity; and both the Greeks and Romans confessed that their instruments of this class were derived from Egyptians and Syrians. See volume 3.
fte294 The people of the East sat on couches in their private parties, banquets, etc., as well as reposed on them during night. The language here may, therefore, be expressive of the praise they would ascribe to God at their festal banquets and in their private companies. An exhortion has previously been given (<19E901>Psalm 149:1) to praise God in the public assembly. Green supposes that the reference is to the couches on which they reclines when they partook of the eucharistical sacrifices.
fte295 “The original is µnwrgb, in their throats. It is probable the Hebrew, when a living language, was extremely guttural, as the Arabian language now is.” — Fry. fte296 “Qui est ici dit du glaive trainchant des deux cotes, appartient specialment aux Juifs, et ne peut pas estre approprie an nous,” etc. — Fr.
PSALM 150
fte297 “The trumpets of the last Temple were probably formed after the ancient model; and as these are represented among the spoils of that Temple on the Triumphal Arch of Titus at Rome, we are enabled to see that they were long straight trumpets, of a form which has always been and continues to be common… Trumpets and horns are the only instruments concerning which any directions are given in the law. ‘In the infancy of a state,’ says Burney, ‘a nation has but little leisure for cultivating music any otherwise than as it is connected with religious rites and the military art ;’ and it is thus that he accounts for the fact, that (with the exception of Miriam’s timbrel) no instruments but horns and trumpets are noticed in the Law. And, indeed, it may be said that they are scarcely mentioned as musical instruments, but as suited to and employed for making signals, calls, and conveying instructions during the religious solemnities, and in the field of war… It is clear, however, that trumpets and cornets were introduced into the musical choirs in the time of David; while they still continued to be employed in their former service. The following particulars concerning the use of trumpets in the Temple will be useful, and are collected chiefly from Lightfoot’s ‘Temple Service.’ The trumpets were sounded exclusively by the priests who stood not in the Levitical choir, but apart and opposite to the Levites, on the other side of the altar, both parties looking towards it—the priests on the west side, and the Levites on the east. The trumpets did not join in the concert; but were sounded during certain regulated pauses in the vocal and instrumental music.”— Illustrated Commentary upon the Bible..
fte298 See footnote 293, <19E903>Psalm 149:3.
fte299 See footnote 292, <19E903>Psalm 149:3.
fte300 The original word is µynmb “This word occurring nowhere else, it is impossible to ascertain what kind of instrument this was, but as Edwards, upon the authority of Rabbi Hannase makes, it a stringed instrument, and the word is probably derived from hnm, to number, probably it was so called from the extraordinary number of strings which it had; and perhaps it was the decachord, mentioned in Psalm 33:2, which, having ten strings, might be called Minim, kat ἐξοχὴν, as consisting of the greatest number of strings in use among the Jews.” — Dimock. fte301 The Hebrew name is bg[, ougab. This instrument is equal in antiquity to the rwnk, kinnor, both being mentioned in Genesis 4:21, as the invention of Jubal. These are the two first musical instruments the invention of which is recorded in Scripture, and the only ones mentioned before the deluge. Subsequently they are almost always mentioned in connection with each other. The ougab was not that complicated instrument which goes by the name of the organ in the present day. Calmet supposes it to have been a flute which consisted of a number of pipes, of unequal thickness and length, set close or joined together, which gave harmonious sound when blown into, by moving them successively under the lower lip. Such is the common opinion, and there seems no ground to dispute its correctness. This instrument was the small organ or syrinx, or fistula Panis of antiquity; its invention having been ascribed to Pan, the great sylvan god, who was usually figured with the instrument in his hands. According to the fable, he formed it of reeds which grew by the river, and played upon it while his goats were feeding on the banks; which shows that it was regarded as properly a pastoral instrument, and as such it seems to be mentioned by Job. (Job 21:11, 12.) The principle of its construction is so simple, that it is among the most widely diffused of musical instruments. It is in common use in the island of New Amsterdam, in the South Seas, as flutes and drums have been found in Otaheite and New Zealand, an uncontestable proof that these are instruments which tribes the most barbarous and the most remote from each other naturally invent. The number of tubes, as represented on ancient monuments, varies from seven to eleven.
fte302 Of the Hebrew musical instrument called lxlx, tsiltel, or “cymbal,” as Calvin here renders it, and as it is rendered in the Septuagint and Vulgate, two kinds are here mentioned — µylxlx, “tsiltelim,” or, “cymbals of sound,” and “tsiltelim,” or “cymbals of jubilation.” The specific difference between these two sorts of the same instrument is not accurately marked. The latter were probably of a larger size than the farmer, or made of such a shape or of such metals as to emit a louder sound. The former are translated by French and Skinner, “the soft cymbal.” The literal translation of the Hebrew is, “cymbals of hearing,” i.e., say these critics, “cymbals which when struck do not overpower the voices of the singers.” They translate the latter, “the loud cymbals.” The ancient cymbals were two convex or hollow plates of brass or other metal, as silver or copper, made in the form of cups, which were held in each hand, and which being struck against each other produced a sharp clanging. sound. Some, however, think that the word tsiltzel exclusively denotes the sistrum, and that cymbals, properly speaking, are denoted by the word µyçylç shalishim, in 1 Samuel 18:6, which is, equally with the other, rendered cymbala by the Septuagint and the Vulgate, and which our authorized version translates “instruments of music.” It is difficult to decide as to these two opinions; but it seems admitted on all hands that both cymbals and sistrums were in use among the Jews. The sistrum was a concave plate of sonorous metal, and of an oval configuration, crossed by bars of the same metal with reverted ends. These bars moved freely in the holes through which they passed, and when the instrument was shaken by the handle to which it was fixed, the reverted ends striking upon the body of the instrument produced the sound. It had generally three or four transverse bars. It was much used by the Egyptians in their religious services, and actual specimens of it of an ancient date have been discovered. See volume 3.
TRANSLATION FOOTNOTES
ftf64 According to the Hebrew division, Part 1 extends from Psalm 1 to Psalm 41 inclusive.
PSALM 4
ftf65 This line is freely rendered. For the literal translation, see the text as given in the commentary.
PSALM 22
ftf66 “I am poured out.” — Fr. ftf67 “Are.” — Fr. ftf68 “Is.” — Fr. ftf69 “Is.” — Fr. ftf70 “Is.” — Fr.
PSALM 24
ftf71 In the French version it is “mighty in battle.”
PSALM 28
ftf72 i.e. Courteously, peaceably.
PSALM 33
ftf73 “La viole.” — Fr.
PSALM 35
ftf74 That is the pitfall in which the net was placed to catch the victim.
PSALM 36
ftf75 In the French version it is “rise.”
PSALM 37
ftf76 In French version the word is “terrible,” which is the idea of the original Hebrew term.
PSALM 38
ftf77 Calvin has inadvertently omitted in his Latin version to translate the word µyyj “living.” But he translates it in his French version.
PSALM 40
ftf78 In the Latin version it is “aptasti;” and in the French, “tu as perce.”
ftf79 According to the Hebrew division, Part 2 extends from Psalm 42 to Psalm 72 inclusive.
PSALM 51
ftf80 In the French Version it is “the whole oblation.”
PSALM 52
ftf81 In the French Version it is “because thou shalt have executed this vengeance.”
PSALM 55
ftf82 Literally, “wickedness.”
ftf83 Ibid ftf84 A free translation is here given. See the Commentary for the literal rendering.
PSALM 57
ftf85 “Psaltery” in the French version.
PSALM 59
ftf86 Literally “man.”
ftf87 In the French version the reading is —
“And let men know even unto the ends of the earth, That God ruleth in Jacob. SELAH.”
PSALM 62
ftf88 The free translation of the French version is here adopted. The literal rendering of the Hebrew text is, “In the scales in going up they [are λιγητερ than vanity together.” To this Calvin strictly adheres in his Latin version.
PSALM 65
ftf89 Literally, “iniquities.”
ftf90 In the French version it is “by the power.”
ftf91 Dominatur seculo. — Lat. “Il domine sur le monde.” — Fr.
PSALM 71
ftf92 Literally, “moreover.” But see the Commentary.
ftf93 “In organo musico.” — Lat. “Avec irgyes de musique.” — Fr. The Hebrew is lbnAAylkb bichli-nebel, “which is the instrument of the nebel, or psaltery.”
PSALM 72
ftf94 In the French versions this line reads — “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, the God of gods.”
ftf95 According to the Hebrew division, Part 3 extends from Psalm 73 to Psalm 89 inclusive
PSALM 74
ftf96 In French version it is, “which thou hast acquired of old.”
ftf97 From the obscurity of the literal translation of the Latin version, the free reading of the French version is adopted in these two lines.
ftf98 Literally “break.”
PSALM 78
ftf99 In the French version it is “to the grasshopper.”
PSALM 79
ftf100 “That is,” says Jebb, “let there be some spared out of those who are marked out for death by their enemies.”
PSALM 80
ftf101 “Shoot” is the rendering in the French version, the word being “provin.” In the Latin version it is “filium,” “son,” the literal translation of the Hebrew text.
PSALM 81
ftf102 Psaltery. — Fr. ftf103 We follow here the French version. In the Latin version, instead of “trumpet” it is “harp,” which is evidently incorrect.
PSALM 83
ftf104 In the French version it is “greatly.”
PSALM 88
ftf105 “To the grave.” — Fr. ftf106 “To the pit.” — Fr.
PSALM 89
ftf107 In the French version it is “thou hast founded.”
ftf108 Literally, “of what age I am.”
ftf109 According to the Hebrew division, Part 4 extends from Psalm 90 to Psalm 106 inclusive.
PSALM 90
ftf110 In the French version it is, “Thou carriest them away as do floods of water.”
PSALM 92
ftf111 In the French version it is “le manichordion,” which Randle Cotgrave translates “an (old fashioned) Clavicord.”
ftf112 In the French version this line reads, — “With the song upon the harp.”
PSALM 93
ftf113 “From that time,” that is, from the creation of the world mentioned in the previous verse.
ftf114 In explaining this verse, Calvin expresses his approbation of a translation somewhat different: —
*“As from eternity thou art,* *Even so thy throne hath been erected (or prepared) from that time.”*
ftf115 “A vocibus.” — Lat. “A cause du bruit.” — Fr.
PSALM 100
ftf116 “Exsultate Jehovae.” — Lat. “Chanter a haute voix au Seigneur.” — Fr. ftf117 In the French it is “give glory to him.”
PSALM 102
ftf118 From verse 3d to verse 11th inclusive, the verbs we have rendered in the present tense are in the preterite in the Latin version, but in this instance we follow the French version in which they are in the present.
ftf119 “Tears” — Fr.
PSALM 105
ftf120 In the Commentary we have translated “they asked,” by mistake. Calvin seems to understand this as spoken of God.
PSALM 106
ftf121 Literally, “And.”
ftf122 According to the Hebrew Division, Part 5 extends from Psalm 107 to Psalm 150 inclusive.
PSALM 107
ftf123 “With” or “from.” — Fr.
PSALM 108
ftf124 In the French version it is “in.”
PSALM 109
ftf125 Literally, “wicked” or “ungodly.”
ftf126 In the French version it is — “And let his children be vagabonds and beg.”
ftf127 In the French version it is — “And seek [for bread] going out of their waste or ruined dwellings.”
ftf128 Literally, “be to destruction.”
ftf129 In the French version it is “sin.”
ftf130 Literally, “work.”
PSALM 111
ftf131 Literally, “beauty and honour.”
PSALM 112
ftf132 In the Latin version it is “verba,” “words,” but Calvin rejects this translation in the commentary. In the French version it is “affairs.”
PSALM 113
ftf133 Literally, “who exalteth himself to dwell.”
PSALM 115
ftf134 In the French version it is “they have mouths.”
PSALM 116
ftf135 The translation of these two verses is free, being modified by Calvin’s Commentary. For the literal translation, see Vol. 4.
ftf136 Literally, it is “hath recompensed upon thee.”
PSALM 118
ftf137 In the French version, in this and the two following verses, it is “that.”
ftf138 Literally, “thrusting thou has thrust.”
ftf139 Literally, “chastising hath chastised me.”
PSALM 119
ftf140 Here the reading in the Latin text is ambiguous. The above is the reading in the French version; and as determined by Calvin in the Commentary.
ftf141 In the French version it is, “have forged lies.”
ftf142 “Horruit.” — Lat. ftf143 Literally, “I have prevented the twilight.” — But see the Commentary.
PSALM 122
ftf144 In the French version it is, “for there are set.”
PSALM 124
ftf145 “Is escaped.” — Fr.
PSALM 131
ftf146 These two lines which are David’s oath are in the abrupt form in which the Jews were accustomed to swear.
PSALM 132
ftf147 These two verses have also the abrupt termination characteristic of the Jewish form of swearing.
PSALM 133
ftf148 “Descendit.” — Lat. “Descend.” — Fr.
PSALM 135
ftf149 In the French version the verb for “speak” in this line; and the verbs for “see” and “hear” in the two next lines, are in the present tense.
PSALM 137
ftf150 Literally, “above the head of my joy.”
PSALM 139
ftf151 “If I make my bed” — Fr. ftf152 Literally, “for terribly I have been made wonderful.”
ftf153 “Thine eyes did see me when I was yet without form.” — Fr.
PSALM 147
ftf154 “Their wounds.” — Fr. ftf155 Literally, “to the sons.”
