Notes on the Old and New Testaments

Hood will I not oflfer, nor take lip tlioir names v into my lips. 5 The Lord is the portion a of

1 mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.

in sacrifice was often mingled with the wine or water that was thus poured out in the services of the heathen gods. So Jarchi, Ahen Ezra, and jMichaelis suppose. It would seem, also, that the worshippers themselves drank this mingled cup. They did this when they hound themselves hy u solemn oath to perform any dangerous service. Be Wette. — The eating, and consequently the drinking of hlood, was solemnly forbidden to the Israelites (comp. Gen. ix. 4; Lev. iii. 17; vii. 26; xvii. 10); and the idea here is, that the psalmist had solemnly resolved that he would not partake of the abominations of the heathen, or be united with them in any way in their worship. "f[ Nor take up their names into mif lips. As objects of woi-ship. That is, I will not in any way acknowledge them as gods, or render to thena the homage which is due to God. The very mention of the name of any other god than the true God was solemnly forbidden by the law of Moses (Ex. xxiii. 13), " And make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of your mouth." So the apostle Paul says (Eph. v. 3), " But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not once be named among you, as becometh saints." The idea in these places seems to be, that the mere mention of these things would tend to produce dangerous familiarity with them, and by such familiarity take oft' something of the repugnance and horror Avith which they should be regarded. They were, in other words, to be utterly avoided; they were never to be thought of or named; they were to be treated as though they were not. No one can safely so foniiliarize himself with vice as to render it a frecjuent subject of conversation. Pollution will flow into the heart from words which describe pollution, even when there is no intention that the use of such words should produce contamination. No one can be familiar with stories or songs of a polluted nature, and still retain a heart of purity. " The vei\v passage of a polluted thought through the mind leaves pollution behind it." How much more is the mind polluted when the thought is dwelt upon, and when utterance is given to it in language!

5. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance. In contradistinction from idols. The margin here is, of my part. The word properly means lot^ portion, part; and is applicable to the portion of booty or plunder that fell to any one; or to the portion of land that belonged to any one in the division of an estate, 2 Kings ix. 10, 36, 37. The meaning here is, that Jehovah was the being whom the psalmist worshipped as God, and tliat he sought no possession or comfort which did not proceed from hiin. ^ And my cup. The allusion here is to what we drink; and hence the term is used in the sense of lot or portion. See Notes on Isa. li. 17. Comp. Notes on Ps. xi. 6. The idea here is this: — " The cup that I drink — that cheers, refreshes, and sustains me — is the Lord. I find comfort, refreshment, happiness, in him alone; not in the intoxicating bowl; not in sensual joys; but in God — in his being, perfections,friendship." *[[ Thou maintainest my lot. Thou dost defend my portion, or that which is allotted to me. The reference is to what he specifies in the following verse as his inheritance, and he says that that which was so valuable to him was sustained or preserved by God. He was the portion of his soul; he was the source of all his joy; he maintained or preserved all that was dear to his heart.

6 The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant i^laces; yea, I have a goodly heritage.

7 I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel; my reins

8 '" I have set the Lord always before me: because he « is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

6. The lines. The word here used refers to the lines employed iu ineasuriug and dividiug land, Amos vii. 17; 2 Sam. viii. 2. Hence the word comes to denote a portion of land that is measured out (or that is surveyed off) to any one, — his possession or property; and hence the word refers to the condition in life. The meaning here is, that iu running out such a sui'vey, his inheritance had been fixed in a pleasant and desirable part of the land. ^ Are fallen unto me. Referring to the appropriation of the difi'erent parts of the land by lot. The idea is, that the land was surveyed into distinct portions, and then that the part which fell to any one was determined by lot. This was actually the case in distributing the lajid of Canaan, Numb. xxvi. 55; xxxiii. 54; xxxvi. 2; Josh. xv. — xix. ^ In pleasant places. In a pleasant or desirable part of the land. •^ Yea, I have a goodly heritage. A good, a desirable inheritance. The meaning is, that he regarded it as a desirable heritage that he lived where the true God was known; where he enjoyed his favour and friendship.

7. / %vill bless the Lord, loho hath given me counsel. Probably the reference here is to the fact that the Lord had counselled him to choose him as his portion, or had inchned him to his service. There is nothing for which a heart rightly aftected is more disposed to praise God than for the fact that bj his grace it has been inclined to serve him; and the time when the heart was given away to God is recalled ever onwards as the happiest period of life. ^ My reins, etc. See Notes on Ps. vii. 9. The 7'eins are here put for the mind, the soul. They were regarded as the seat of the affections, xi. 20; Job xix. 27.

The meaning here is, that in the wakeful hours of night, when meditating on the Divine character and goodness, he found instruction iu regard to God. Comp. Ps. xvii. 3. Everything then is favourable for reflection. The natural calmness and composure of the mind; the stillness of night; the starry heavens; the consciousness that we are alone with God, and that no human eye is upon us, — all these things are favourable to profound religious meditation. They who are kept wakeful by night need not find this an unprofitable portion of their lives. Some of the most instructive hours of life are those which are spent when the eyes refuse to close themselves in slumber, and when the universal stillness invites to contemplation on Divine things.

8. I have set the LOED always hefore me. By night as well as by day: iu my private meditations as well as in my public professions. I have regarded myself always as in the presence of God; I have endeavoured always to feel that his eye was upon me. This, too, is one of the certain characteristics of piety, that we always feel that we are in the presence of Godp and that we always act as if his eye were upon us. Comp. Notes on Acts ii. 25. ^ Because he is at my right hand. The right hand was regarded as the post of honour and dignity, but it is also mentioned as a position of defence or protection. To have one at our right hand is to have one near us who can defend us. Thus, in Ps. cix. 31, "He shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him," etc. So Psalm ex. 5, " The Lord at thy right band shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath." Ps. cxxi. 5, " The Lord is

9 Therefore my lieart is glad, and my glory rejoiccth: my ilesh

thy Keepor; the Lord is tliy shade upon thy right hand." The idea is, that as we use the right hand in our own defence, we seem to have an additional and a needed helper when one is at our right liand. The sense here is, tluit the psalmist felt that God, as his Protector, was always near him; always ready to interpose for his defence. We have a somewhat similar expression when we say of any one that he is "at hand " that is, he is near us. ^ I shall not he moved. I shall he safe; I shall not he disturbed by fear; I shall be protected from my enemies. See Ps. x. 6; xv. 5. Comp. Ps. xlvi. 5. The language here is that of one who has confidence in God in time of great calamities, and who feels that he is safe under the Divine favour and protection.

9. Therefore my heart is glad. In view of this fict, tliat my confidence is in God alone, and my belief that he is my Pi'otector and Friend. See Notes on Acts ii. 26. ^ And my glory rejoiceth. The LXX. translate this, " my tongue," and this translation is followed by Peter in his quotation of the passage in Acts ii. 26. See Notes on that passage. The meaning here is, that whatever there was in him that was honourable, dignified, or glorious, — all the faculties of his soul, as well as his heart, — had occasion to rejoice in God. His whole nature — his undyiug soul — hia exalted powers as he was made by God — all — all, found cause of exultation in the favour and friendship of God. The heart — the understanding — the imagination— the whole immortal soul, found occasion for joy in God. ^ 3Iy jlesh also. jNIy body. Or, it may mean, his whole person, he himself, though the direct allusion is to the body considered as lying in the grave, ver. 10. The language is such as one would use of himself when he reflected on his own death, and it is equivalent to saying, " I myself, when I am dead, shall rest in hope; my soul will not also shall ^ rest in hope.

be left to abide in the gloomy place of the dead; nor will my body remain permanently in the grave under the power of corruption. In reference to my soul and my body — my whole nature— I shall descend to the grave in the hope of a future life." ^ Shall rest. Marg., divell confidently. The Hebrew is literally " shall dwell in confidence" or hope. The word here rendered " shall rest" means properly to let oneself down; to lie down. Num. ix. 17; Ex. xxiv. 16; then, to lay oneself down, to lie down, as, for example, a lion lying down, Dent, xxxiii. 20; or a people in tents. Num. xxiv. 2; and hence, to rest, to take rest, Judges v. 17; and then to abide, to dwell. — Gesenius, Lex. Perhaps the sense here is that of lying doivn, considered as lying in the grave, and the expression is equivalent to saying, " When I die I shall lie down in the grave in hope or confidence, not in despair. I shall expect to rise and live again." ^ In hope. The word here used means trust, confidence, security. It is the opposite of despair. As used here, it would refer to a state of mind in which there was an expectation of living again, as distinguished from that state of mind in which it was felt that the gi*ave was the end of man. What is particularly to be remarked here is, that this trust or confidence extended to the " flesh " as well as to the " soul;" and the language is such as would be naturally used by one who believed in the resurrection of the body. Language of this kind occurs elsewhere in the Old Testament, showing that the doctrine of the resurrection of the body was one to which the sacred writers were not strangers, and that although the doctrine was not as explicitly and formally stated in the Old Testament as in the New, yet that it Avas a doctrine which had been at some time communicated to man. See Notes on Isa. xxvi. 19; Dan. xii. 2. As applicable G2

10 For tliou wilt not leave « my

to David, the language liere used is expressive of his belief that he would rise again, or would not perish in the grave when his body died; as applicable to the Messiah, as applied by Peter (Acts ii. 26), it means that when he should die it would be with the hope and expectation of being raised again without seeing corruption. The language is such as to be applicable to both cases; and, in regard to the interpretation of the language, it makes no difference whether it was supposed that the resurrection would occur before the body should moulder back to dust, or whether it would occur at a much more reuiote period, and long after it had gone to decay. In either case it would be true that it was laid in the grave " in hope.'^

10. For thou wilt not leave. The language here used implies, of course, that what is here called the soul would be in the abode to which the name hell is given, but how long it would be there is not intimated. The thought simply is, that it would not be left there; it would not be suffered, to remain there. Whether it would be restored to life again in a few days, or after a longer period, is not implied in the term used. It would be fulfilled, though, as in the case of the Lord Jesus, the resurrection should occur in three days; or though, as in the case of David, it would occur only after many ages; or though, as Abraham believed of Isaac if he was oftered as a sacrifice (Heb. xi. 19), he should be restored to life at once. In other words, there is no allusion in this language to time. It is only to Vaefact that there would be a restoration to life. ^ My soul. De Wette renders this, mg life. The Hebrew word — ^DD. nephesh — which occurs very frequently in the Scriptures, means properly breath; then, the vital spirit, life; then, the rational soul, the mind; then, an animal, or soul in hell: neither wilt thou animated thing — that which lives; then, oneself. Which of these senses is the true one here must be determined from the connexion, and the meaning could probably be determined by a man's asking himself what he would think of if he used similar language of himself — "1 am about to die; my flesh will go down to the grave, and will rest in hope, — the hope of a resurrection; my breath — my soul — will depart, and I shall be dead; but that life, that soul, will not be extinct: it will not be left in the grave, the abode of the dead; it will live again, live on for ever." It seems to me, therefore, that the language here would embrace the immortal part — that which is distinct from the body; and that the word here employed may be propeily understood of the soul as we understand that word. The psalmist probably understood by it that part of his nature which was not mortal or decaying; that which properly constituted his life. ^ In heU—iSii,x6h, to Sheol. See Notes on Ps. vi. 5; Isa^ V. 14. This word does not necessarily mean hell in the sense in which that term is now commonly employed, as denoting the abode of the wicked in the future world, or the place of punishment; but it means the region or abode of the dead, to which the grave was regarded as the door or entrance — the under-world. The idea is, that the soul would not be suffered to remain in that under-world — that dull, gloomy abode (comp. Notes on Job X. 21, 22), but would rise again to light and life. This language, however, gives no sanction to the words used in the creed, " he descended into hell," nor to the opinion that Christ went down personally to "preach to the spirits in prison " — the souls that are lost (comp. Notes on 1 Peter iii. ly); but it is language derived from the prevailing opinion that the soul, through the grave, descended to the suffer tliine Holy One to see | coiTuption.

Tinder-world — to the abodes where the dead were supposed still to reside. See Notes on Isa. xiv. i). As a matter of fact, the soul of the Saviour at his death entered into " paradise." See Notes on Luke xxiii. 43. % Neither tcilt thou suffer. Literally, " thou wilt not give;" that is, he would not give him over to corruption, or would not sutler him to return to corruption. ^ Thine RoJif One. See Notes on Acts ii. 27. The reading here in the text is in the plural form, " thy holy ones;" the marginal reading in the Hebrew, or the Keri,is in the singular, *' thine Holy One." The singular form is followed by the Chaldee Paraphrase, the Latin Vulgate, the Septuagiut, the Arabic, and in the New Testament, Acts ii. 27. The Masorites have also pointed the text as if it vvere in the singular. Many manuscripts and earlier editions of the Bible, and all the ancient versions, read it in the same manner. It is probable, therefore, that this is the true reading. The Hebrew word rendered holif one — l^DTT, hhcisid — means properly kind, benevolent, liberal, good, merciful, gracious, pious. Gesenius, Lex. — It would be applicable to any persons wlio are pious or religious, but it is here restricted to the one whom the psalmist had in his eye — if the psalm referred to himself, then to himself; if to the Messiah, then to him. Tlie terai is several times given to the Saviour as being especially adapted to him. See Mark i. 24; Luke iv. 34; Acts iii. 14; comp. Luke i. 35. It is applied to him as being eminently holy, or as being one whom God regarded as peculiarly his own. As the passage here is expressly applied to him in tlie Acts of the Apostles (ch. ii. 27), there can be no doubt that it was intended by the Spirit of inspiration to designate him in this place, whatever reference it may have had primarily to David himself. ^ To see. That is, to experience J to be acquainted with.

in Kal, to destroy. The verb is used in various forms frequently; meaning to destroy, to ruin, to lay waste. It is translated here by the Latin Vulgate, comtptionem; by the Septuagint, hacpQopdv, corruption; by the Arabic in the same way. The same word which is employed by the LXX. is employed also in quoting the passage in the New Testament, where the argument of Peter (Acts ii. 27), and of Paul (Acts xiii. 35, 36, 37), is founded on the supposition that svich is the sense of the word here; that it does not mean merely the pit, or the grave; that the idea in the psalm is not that the person referred to would not go down to the grave, or would not die, but that lie would not moulder back to dust in the grave, or that the change would not occur to him in the grave which does to those who lie loni? in the tomb. Peter and

Paul both regard tliis as a distinct prophecy that the Messiah would he raised from the grave without returning to corruption, and they argue from the fact that David did return to corruption in the grave hke other men, that the passage couhl not have referred mainly to himself, but that it had a proper fulfilment, and its highest fulfilment, in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. This interpretation the believer in the inspiration of Peter and Paul is bound to defend, and in reference to this it may be remarked, (1) that it cannot be demonstrated that this is not the meaning of the word. The word may be as fairly derived from the verb to corrupt, as from the verb to sink donm, and, indeed, onore naturally and more obviously. The grammatical form would rather suggest this derivation than the other, (2) It is a fair construction of the original word. It is such a construction as may be put upon it without any forced application, or any design to defend a theory or an opinion. In other words, it is not a mere catch, or a grasp at a possible meaning of the word, but it is a rendering which, on every principle of grammatical construction, may be regarded as a. fair interpretation. Whatever may have been the exact idea in the mind of David, whether he understood this as referring only to himself, and to the belief that he would not always remain in the grave, and under the power of corruption; or whether he understood it as referring primarily to himself, and ultimately and mainly to the Messiah; or whether he understood it as referring solely to the Messiah; or whether he did not at all understand the language which the Holy Spirit led him to employ (comp. Kotes on 1 Pet. i. 11, 12), it is equally true that the sense which the apostles put on the words, in their application of the passage to the Messiah, is a suitable one. (3) The ancient versions, as has been seen above, confirm this. Without an exception they give the sense of cor- ruption— the very sense which h:i3 been given to the word by Peter and Paul, The authors of these versions had no theory to defend, and it may be presumed that they had a just knowledge of the true meaning of the Hebrew word. (4) It may be added that this interpretation accords with the connexion in which the word occurs. Though it may be admitted that the connexion would not necessai'ily lead to this view, yet this interpretation is in entire harmony with the statements in the previous verses, and in the following vei-se. Thus, in the previous verse, the psalmist had said that " his flesh would rest in hope," — a sentiment which accords with either the idea that he would at some future period be raised from the grave, and would not perish for ever, though the period of the resurrection might be remote; or with the idea of being raised up so soon that the body ^\ould not return to corruption, /. e., before the change consequent on death would take place. The sentiment in the following verse also agrees Avith this view. That sentiment is, that there is a path to life; that in the presence of God there is fulness of joy; that at his right hand there are pleasures for evermore — a sentiment, in this connexion, founded on the belief of the resurrection from the dead, and equally true Avhether the dead should be raised immediately or at some remote period. I infer, therefore, that the apostles Peter and Paul made a legitimate use of this passage; that the argument which they xu'ged was derived from a proper interpretation of the language; that the fair construction of the psalm, and the fact that David had returned to corruption, fully justified them in the application which they made of the passage; and that, therefore, it was the design of the Holy Spirit to convey the idea that the Messiah would be raised from the dead without undergoing the change which others undergo in the grave; and that it was thus predicted in the Old Testament, that he would be raised from

.11 Til on wilt sliow me the path " of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; '' at thy right hand the dead in the manner in which he Mas.

11. Thou u- Hi sjiow me tJie path of life. In this connexion this means that though he was to die, — to descend to the regions of the dead, and to lie down in the dark grave, — yet there teas a path again to the living world, and that that path would be pointed out to him by God. In other words, he would not be snfFei*ed to remain among the dead, or to wander away for ever with those who were in the under world, but he would be brought back to the living world. This is language which, in this connexion, could be founded only on a belief of the resurrection of the dead. The word " life" here does not necessarily refer to heaven — to eternal life — though the connexion shows that this is the ultimate idea. It is life in contradistinction from the condition of the dead. The highest form of life is that which is found in heaven, at the right hand of God; and the connexion shows it w^as that on which the eye of the psalmist was fixed. ^[ la thy lyresence. Literally, " with thy face." Before thy face; or, as the sense is correctly expressed in our version, in thy presence. The reference is to God's presence in heaven, or where he is supposed to dwell. This is shown by the additional statement that the joy mentioned was to be found at his "right hand" — an expression which properly refers to heaven. It is not merely a return to earth which is anticipated; it is an exaltation to heaven. ^ Is fulness of joy. Not partial joy; not imperfect joy; not joy intermingled with pain and sorrow; not joy which, though in itself real, does 'not satisfy the decires of the soul, as is the case with much of the happiness which we experience in this life, — but joy, full, satisfying, unalloyed, unclouded, uninino^ied with anything that would w there are pleasures * for evermore.

diminish its fulness or its brightness; joy that will not be diminished, as all earthly joys must be, by the feeling that it must soon come to an end. ^ At thy right hand. The right hand is the place of honour (Notes, ver. 8). Comp. Mark xvi. 19; Heb. i. 3; Acts vii. 56; and it here refers to the place which the saints will occupy in heaven. This language could have been used only by one who believed in the doctrine of the resuri*ection and of the future state. As applicable to the author of the psalm, it implies that he had a firm belief in the resurrection of the dead, and a confident hope of happiness hereafter; as applicable to the Messiah, it denotes that he would be raised up to exalted honour in heaven; as applicable to believers now, it expresses their firm and assured faith tluit eternal happiness and exalted honour await them in the future world. ^ There are pleasures for evermore. Happiness that will be eternal. It is not enjoyment such as we have on earth, which we feel is soon to terminate; it is joy which can have no end. Here, in respect to any felicity which we enjoy, we cannot but feel that it is soon to cease. No matter how secure the sources of our joy may seem to be, we know that happiness here cannot last long, for life cannot long continue; and even though life should be lengthened out for many years, we have no certainty that our happiness will be commensi;rate even with our existence on earth. The dearest friend that we have may soon leave ns to return no more; health, the source of so many comforts, and essential to the enjoyment of any comfort here, may soon fail; property, however firmly it may be secured, may " take to itself wings and fly away." Soon, at any rate, if these tilings do not leave us, we shall leave them; and in respect to happiness from them, we shall be as though

TJEAR 1 the right, O Lord, •^ attend unto my cry; give ear

they had not been. Not so will it be at the right hand of God. Happiness there, whatever may be its nature, will be eternal. Losses, disappointment, bereavement, sickness, can never occur there; nor can the anticipation of death, though at the most distant period, and after countless millions of ages, ever mar our joys. How different in all these things will heaven be from earth! How desirable to leave the earth, and to enter on those eternal joys!

This psalm is entitled "A Prayer of David." By whom the title was prefixed to it, is not known; but there can be no doubt of its appropriateness. It is, throughout, a prayer — fervent, earnest, beliexiiig. It was evideutly uttered in the view of danger— danger arising from the number and the designs of his enemies; but on what pai-ticular occasion it was composed cannot noAV be determined. There were many occasions, however, in the life of Da^'id for the utterance of such a prayer, and there can be no doubt that in the dangers which so frequently beset him, he often poured out such warm and earnest appeals to God for help. Who the enemies referred to Avere cannot now be ascertained. All that is knoAm of them is that they were "deadly" or bitter foes, that they were prosperous in the world, and that they were proud (vers. 9, 10); that they were fierce and greedy, like a lion hunting its prey (ver. 12); that they were men whose families Avere in affluence, and men who lived for this world alone, ver. 14.

\. The prayer itself, as an earnest appeal or supplication to God to do what was equal and right, vers. 1, 2.

2. A reference of the author of the psalm to himself, and to his owti life and character, as not deserving the treatment which he was receiving from others,

3. An earnest petition on this ground for the Divine interposition, vers. 5-9.

4. A description of the character of his enemies, and a prayer on the ground of that (character, that God would intei-poso for him, vers. 10-14.

5. The expression of a confident hope of deliverance from oil enemies; a looking forward to a world where he would be rescued from all troubles, and where, in the presence of God, and entering on a new life, he would awake in the likeness of God and be satisfied, ver. lo. The psalm terminates, as the anticipations of all good men do amid the troubles of this life, in the hope of that world where there will be no trouble, and where thej' Avill be permitted to dwell for ever witb

1. Hear the right. Marg., as in 'Hehrew, justice. The prayer is, that God would regard that which wns rifjht in the case, or that he would vindicate the psalmist from that which was wrong. It is the expression of his confident assurance even in the presence of God that his cause was right, and that he was asking only that which it would be consistent for a just God to do. We can offer an acceptable prayer only when we are sure that it would be right ibr God to answer it, or that it would be consistent with perfect and eternal justice to grant our requests. It is to be observed here, however, that the ground of the petition of the psalmist is not that he was righteous, that is, he did not base his petition on the ground of his own merits, but that his cause was righteous; that he was unjustly oppressed and persecuted by his enemies. We cannot ask God to interpose in our behalf because we have a claim to his favour on the ground of our own merit; we may ask him to interpose because wrong is done, and his glory will be promoted in securing that which is just and right. ^ Attend unto my cry. The word here used— 7731, rinnah — means either a shout of joy, Ps. xxx. 5j xlii. 4; xlvii. 1; or a mournful cry.

2 Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal.

3 Thou hast proved y mine heart; thou hast visited «ie in the

outcry, wailing, Ps. Ixi. 1; et scepe. It is expressive, in either case, of deep feeling which vents itself in an audible manner. Here it denotes the earnest utterance of prayer. ^ Give ear unto my prayer. See Notes on Ps. v. 1. ^ That goeth not out of feigned lips. Marg., as in Heb., ivithout lips of deceit. That is, that is sincere, or that proceeds from the heart. The utterance of the lips does not misrepresent the feelings of the heart. True prayer is that in which the lips do represent the real feelings of the soul. In hypocritical prayer the one is no proper representation of the other. It is evident that the prayer here was not mere mental prayer, or a mere desire of the heart. It was uttered prayer, or oral prayer; and, though private, it was in the form of uttered words. The feeling was so great that it was expressed in an audible cry to God. Deep emotion usually finds vent in such audible and fervent expressions. Compare the Saviour's earnest prayer in tlie garden of Gethscmane, Luke xxii. 41, seq.

2. Let my sentence. Heb., my judgment. The allusion is- to a judgment or sentence as coming from God in regard to the matter referred to in the psalm, to wit, the injuries which he liad received from his enemies. He i'elt that they had done him injustice and wrong; he felt assured that a sentence or judgment from God in the case would be in his favoui*. So Job often felt that if he could bririg his case directly bef)re (Jod, God would decide in his favour. Comp. Job xxiii. 1 — 6. \ Come forth from thy presence. From before thee. That is, he asks God to pronounce a sentence in his case. ^ Let thine eyes heJiold. He asked God to examine the case with his own eyes, or attentively to consider it, and to see where justice was. ^ The things that are cqiial. The things that are just and right. He felt assured that his own cause was right, and he prays here that justice in the case may be done. He felt that, if that were done, he would be delivered from his enemies. As between ourselves and our fellow-men, it is right to pray to God that he would see that exact justice should bo done, for we may be able to feel certain that justice is ou our side, and that we are injured by them; but as between ourselves and God, we can never otter that prayer, for if justice were done to us we could not but be condemned. Before him our plea must be for mercy, not justice.

3. Thou hast proved mine heart. In this verse he refers to his own character and life in the matter under consideration, or the consciousness of his own innocence in respect to his fello\v-men who are persecuting and opposing him. He ajjpeals to the Great Searcher of hearts in proof that, in this respect, he was innocent; and he refers to different forms of trial on the part of God to show that after the most thorough search he would find, and did find, that in these respects he was an innocent man, and that his enemies had no occasion to treat him as they had done. It is still to be borne iu mind here that the trial which the psalmist asks at the hand of God was not to prove that he was innocent towards Him, or that he had a claim to His favour on account of his own personal holiness, but it was that he was innocent of any wrong towards those who were persecuting him, or, in other words, that after the most searching trial, even by his Maker, it would be found that he had given them no cause for treating him thus. The word here rendered " proved " means to try, to prove, to examine, — especially metals, to test their genuineness. See Notes ou Ps. vii. 9, 10;

night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing: I am purposed that my mouth ^ shall not

Job xii. 11. The psalmist here says that God had tried or searclied Ms heart. He knew all his inotives. He had examined all his desires and his thoughts. The psalmist felt assured that, after the most thorough trial, eveu God would not find anything in his heart that would justify the conduct of his enemies towards him. ^ Thou hast visited me. That is, for the purpose of inspecting my character, or of examining me. The English word visit, like the Hebrew, is often used to denote a visitation for the purpose of inspection and examination. The idea is, that God had come to him for tlie very purpose of examining his character. *\\ In the night. \n solitude. In darkness. When I was alone. In the time when the thoughts are less under restraint than they are when surrounded by others. In a time M'hen it can be seen v.hat we really are; when we do not put on appearances to deceive others. ^ Thou hast tried me. The word, here used —?]"1^, tzaraph — means properly to melt, to smelt, sc, metals, or separating the pure metal from the dross. The meaning is, that God, in examining into his character, had subjected him to a trial as searching as that employed in purifying metals by casting them into the fire. ^ And shalt find nothing. Thou wilt find nothing that could give occasion for the conduct of my enemies. The future tense is here used to denote that, eveu if the investigation were continued, God would find nothing in his heart or in his conduct that would warrant their treatment of him. He had the most full and settled determination not to do wrong to them in any respect whatever. Nothing had been found in him that would justify their treatment of him; he was determined so to live, and he felt assured that he would so live, that

4 Concerning the works of men, by the " word of thy lips I

nothing of the kind tvonld be found in him in time to come. ^ I am purposed. I am fully resolved. ^ Mi/ mouth shall not transgress. Transgress the law of God, or go beyond what is right. That is, I will utter nothing which is wrong, or which can give occasion for their harsh and unkind treatment. ]\Iuch as he had been provoked and injured, he was determined not to retaliate, or to give occasion for their treating him in the manner in which they were now doing. Prof. Alexander renders this " My mouth shall not exceed my thought;" but the common version gives a better idea, and is sanctioned by the Hebrew. Comp. Gesenius, Lex.

4. Concerning the works of men. In respect to the works or doings of men. The reference is here pi'obably to the ordinary or common doings of mankind, or to what generally characterises the conduct of men. As their conduct is so commonly, and so characteristically wicked, wickedness may be spoken of as their " work," and it is to this doubtless that the psalmist refers. In respect to the sinful courses or "paths" to which men are so prone, ho says that he had kept himself from them. This is in accordance with what he says in the previous verse, that he had given no occasion by his conduct for the treatment which he had received at the hands of his enemies. % By the loord of thy lips. Not by his own strength; not by any power which he himself had, but by the commands and promises of God, — by what had proceeded from his mouth. The reference is doubtless to all that God had spoken: — to the law which prescribed his duty, and to the promises Avhich God had given to enable him to walk in the path of uprightness. He had relied on the word of God as inculcating duty; he had submitted to it

liave kept me from the paths of the destroyer.

5 Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps ' slip not.

as authority; ho had found oncouras^ement in it in endeavouring to do right. % I have Icept me. I have preserved myself. I have so guarded my conduct that I have not fallen into the sins whieli are so common among men. ^ The -paths of the destroyer. The paths vvhich the "destroyer" treads; the course of life whlcli such men lead. Tlie idea is, not that he had been able to save himself from violence at their hands, but that he had been enabled to avoid their mode of life. The word rendered destroyer is from a verb which means to break, to rend, to scatter, and would properly refer to acts of violence and lawlessness. He had kept himself from the modes of life of the violent and the lawless; that is, he had been enabled to lead a peaceful and quiet life. He had given no occasion to his enemies to treat him as a violent, a lawless, a Aviclced man.

5. Hold up my goinys in thy paths. He had been enabled before this to keep himself from tlie ways of the violent by tlie word of God (ver, 4); he felt his dependence on God still to enable him, in the circumstances in which he Avas placed, and under the l)rovocations to which he was exposed, to live a life of peace, and to keep himself from doing wrong. He, therefore, calls on God, and asks liim to sustain him, and to keep him still in the right path. The verb here used is in the infinitive form, but used instead of the imperative. De Wette. — Prof. Alexander renders this less correctly, " My steps have laid hold of thy paths;" for he supposes that a prayer here " would be out of place." i3ut prayer can never be more ap^iropriate than when a miin realises that he owes the fact of his having been hitherto enabled to lead an upright life only to the " word " of God, and

6 I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.

when provoked and injured by others he feels that he might be in danger of doing wrong. In such circumstances nothing can be more proper than to call upon God to keep us from sin. ^ That my footsteps slip not. Marg., as in Heb., he not moved. The idea is, "that I may be firm; that I may not yield to passion; that, provoked and wronged by others, I may not be allowed to depart from the course of life which I have been hitherto enabled to pursue," No prayer could be more appropriate. When we feel and know that we have been wronged by others; when our lives have given no cause for such treatment as we receive at their hands; when they are still pursuing us, and injuring us in our reputation, our property, or our peace; when all the bad passions of our nature are liable to be aroused, prompting us to seek revenge, and to return evil ibr evil, then nothing can be more proper than for us to lift our hearts to God, entreating that he will keep us, and save us from falling into sin; that he will enable us to restrain our passions, and to subdue our resentments.

6. I have called upon thee, for thou iv'ilt hear me, O God. The meaning of this is, " I have called on thee heretofore, and will do it still, because I am certain that thou wilt hear me." That is, he was encouraged to cull upon God by the conviction that he would hear his prayer, and woiild grant his request. In other words, he came to God in faith; in the full belief of his readiness to answer prayer, and to bestow needed blessings. Comp. John xi. 42; Heb. xi. G. ^ Incline thine ear unto me. See Notes on ver, 1. ^ 3Iy speech. IVfy ])rayer. The reference here, as in ver, 1, is to prayer uttered before God, and not mere mental prayer.

1 Or, them icliich trust in thee from those that rise vp against thij right hand.

thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.

7. Shoiv thy maroellous loving-Jcindness. The literal translation of the original here would be, " distinguish thy favours^ The Hebrew word used means properly to separate; to distinguish; then, to make distinguished or great. The prayer is, that God would separate his mercies on this occasion from his ordinary mercies by the manifestation of greater powers, or by showing him special favour. The ordinary or common mercies which he was receiving at the hand of God would not meet the present case. His dangers were much greater than ordinary, his wants were more pressing than usual; and he asked for an interposition of mercy corresponding with his circumstances and condition. Such a prayer it is obviously proper to present before God; that is, it is right to ask him to suit his mercies to our peculiar necessities; and when special dangers surround us, when we are assailed with peculiarly strong temptations, when we have unusually arduous duties to perform, when we are pressed down with peculiarly severe trials, it is right and proper to ask God to bestow favours upon us which will correspond with our peculiar cii'cumstances. His ability and his willingness to aid us are not measured by our ordinary requirements, but are equal to any of the necessities which can ever occur in our lives. •[[ O thou that savest hy thy right hand. Marg., " that savest those that trust in thee from those that rise up against thy right hand." The Hebrew will admit of either construction, though that in the text is the more correct. It is, literally, " Saving those trusting, from those that rise up, with thy right hand. The idea is, that it was a characteristic of God, or that it was what he usually did, to save by his own power those that trusted him from those who rose up against them. That is, God miglit be appealed to to do this now, on the ground that he was accustomed to do it; and that, so to speak, he would be acting "in character" in doing it. In other words, we may ask God to do what he is accustomed to do; we may go to him in reference to his wellknown attributes and character, and ask him to act in a manner which will be but the regular and proper manifestation of his nature. We could not ask him to do what was contrary to his nature; we cannot ask him to act in a way which would be out of character. What he has done for men always, we may ask him to do for us; what is entirely consistent with his perfections, we may ask him to do in our own case. ^ By thy right hand. By thy power. The right hand is that by which we execute our purposes, or put forth our power; and the psalmist asks God to put forth his power in defending him. See Isa. xli. 10; Job xl. 14; Ps. Ixxxix. 13. % From those that rise up against them. From their enemies.

8. Keep me as the apple of the eye. Preserve me; guard me; defend me, as one defends that which is to him most precious and valuable. In the original there is a remarkable strength 1 of expression, and at the same time a I remarkable confusion of gender in the language. The literal translation would be, '* Keep me as the little man — the daughter of the eye." The word apple applied to the eye means the pupil, the little aperture in the middle of the eye, through which the rays of light pass to form an image on the retina {Johnson, Webster); though ■why it is called the apple of the eye the lexicographers fail to tell us. The Hebrew word — "jiTiJ^N, Ishon — means properly, a little man, and is given to the apple or pupil of the eye, " in which, as in a mirror, a person seea I

9 From the wicked that i oppress me, from my 2 deadly enemies who compass me about.

10 They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.

11 They have now compassed us in our steps; they have set

his own image reflected in miniature." This comparison is found in several languages. The word occurs in the Old Testament only in Deut. xxxii. 10; Ps. xvii. 8; Prov. vii. 2; where it is rendered apple; in Prov. vii. 9, where it is rendered black; and in Prov. XX. 20, where it is rendered obscure. The other expression in the Hebrew — "the daughter oHha eye" — is derived from a usage of the Hebrew word daughter, as denoting that which is dependent on, or connected with {Gesenius, Lex.), as the expression " daughters of a city " denotes the small towns or villages lying around a city, and dependent on its jurisdiction, Num. xxi. 25, 32; xxxii. 42; Josh, xvii. 11. So the expression daughters of song, Eccl. xii. 4. The idea here is, that the little image is the child of the eye; that it has its birth or origin there. The prayer of the psalmist here is, that God would guard him, as one guards his sight — an object so dear and valuable to him. ^ Hide me under the shadow of thy wings. Another image denoting substantially the same thing. This is taken from the care evinced by fowls in protecting their young, by gathering them under their wings. Comp. Matt, xxiii. 37. Both of the comparisons here used ai-e found in Deut. xxxii. 10 — 12; and it is probable that the psalmist had that passage in his eye — "He instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye; as an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings; so the Lord alone did lead him." Comp. also Ps. xxxvi. 7; Ivii. 1; lxi.4; Ixiii. 7; xci. 1, 4.

9. From the toicJced that oppress me. Marg., That waste me. The margin expresses the sense of the Hebrew.

The idea is that of being wasted, desolated, destroyed, as a city or country is by the ravages of war. The psalmist compares himself in his troubles with such a city or country. The effect of the persecutions which he had endured had been like cities and lauds thus laid waste by fire and sword. ^ From vig deadly enemies. Marg., 3Ii/ enemies against the soul. The literal idea is, " enemies against my life." The common translation expresses the idea accurately. The sense is, that his enemies sought his life. % Who compass me abotit. Who surround me on every side, as enemies do who besiege a city.

10. They are inclosed in their otvn fat. The meaning here is, that they were prosperous, and that they were consequently self-confident and proud, and were regardless of others. The phrase occurs several times as descriptive of the wicked in a state of prosperity, and as, therefore, insensible to the rights, the wants, and the suflerings of others. Comp. Deut. xxxii. 15, " But Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked: thou art waxed f\it, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him," etc. Job xv. 27, " Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his flanks." Ps. Ixxiii. 7, "Their eyes stand out with fatness." Ps. cxix. 70, " Their heart is as fat as grease." *i[ With their mouth they speak proudly. Haughtily; in an arrogant tone; as a consequence of their prosperity.

11. They have 7ioio compassed us. Myself, and those who are associated with me. It would seem from this that the psalmist was not alone. It is to be observed, however, that there is a difference of reading in the Hebrew

12 ^ Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, • and as it were a

1 Tlie likeness of him (that is, of every one of them) IS as a lion that desireth to ravin.

text. The Masoretic reading is tis; the Hebrew text is me, though in the other expression the plural is used — " our steps." There is no impropriety in supposing that the psalmist refers to his followers, associates, or friends, meaning that the wrong was done not to him alone, but to others connected with him. The meaning of comfassed is, that they surrounded him on every side. Where^'^er he went, they were there. ^ In our steps. Wherever we go. ^ They have set their eyes. As those do who are intent on any thing; as the lion does that is seeking its prey (ver. 12). They looked keenly and directly at the object. They did not allow their eyes to wander. They were not indifferent to the object of their pursuit. ^ Bowing doivn to the earth. That is, as the translators evidently understood this, having their eyes bowed down to the ground, or looking steadily to the ground. The image, according to Bishop Horsley, is borrowed from a hunter taking aim at an animal upon tli£ ground. A more literal translation, however, would be, "They have fixed their eyes to lay me prostrate upon the ground." The Hebrew word — nt33> natali — means properly to stretch out, to extend; then, to incline, to how, to depress; and hence the idea of prostrating; thus, to make the shoulder bend downwards. Gen. xlix. 15; to bring down the mind to an object, Ps. cxix. 112; to bow the heavens, Psa. xviii.9. Hence the idea of prostrating an enemy; and the sense liere clearly is, that they had fixed their eyes intently on the psalmist, with a purpose to prostrate him to the ground, or completely to overwhelm him.

young lion 2 lurking in secret places.

of them) is as a lion that desireth to ravin. The meaning is plain. They were like a lion intent on securing his prey. They watched the object narrowly; they were ready to spring upon it. ^ Thatis greedy of his 2)rey. " He is craving to tear." Professor Alexander. — The Hebrew word rendered " is greedy," means to pine, to long after, to desire greatly. The Hebrew word rendered " of his prey,'' is a verb, meaning to pluck, to tear, to rend in pieces. The reference is to the lion that desires to seize his victim, and to rend it in pieces to devour it. ^ And, as it ivere, a young lion, Hebrew, " And like a young lion." % Lurking in secret places. Marg., as in Heb., sitting. The allusior is to the lion crouching, or lying in wait for a favourable opportunity to pounce upon his prey. See Notes on Ps. x. 8-10. There is no special emphasis to be affixed to the fact that the " lio:i " is alluded to in one member of this verse, and the '^ young lion" in the other. It is in accordance with the custom of parallelism in Hebrev/ poetry where the same idea, with some little variation, is expressed in both members of the sentence. See Introduction to Job, § 5.

13. Arise, O LoED. See Notes on Ps. iji. 7. % Disappoint him. Marg., p)revent his face. The marginal reading expresses the sense of the Hebrew. The word used in the original means to anticipate, to go before, to prevent; and the prayer here is that God would come before his enemies; that is, that he would cast himself in their way before they should reach him. The enemy is represented as marching upon him with his face intently fixed, seeking his destruction; and he prays that God would interpose, or that He would come to his aid before his soul from tlie wicked, ^ luhich is thy - sword:

14 From men - ivhich are tliy enemy should come up to him. *^ Cast him down. That is, as it is in the Hebrew, make him beud or bow, as one who is conquered bows before a conqueror. ^ Deliver mif soul from the wicJcecl. Save my life; save me from the designs of the wicked. «I Which is thy sword. The Chaldee I'araphrase renders this, " Deliver my soul from the wicked man, who deserves to be slain with thy sword." Ihe Latin Vulgate, " Deliver my soul from the wicked man; thy spear from the enemies of thy hand." So the LXX., " Deliver my soul from the wicked; thy sword from the enemies of thy hand."- The Syriac, " Deliver my soul from the wicked, and from the sword." Do Wette renders it, " Deliver my soul from the wicked by tliy sword." Prof. Alexander, "Save my soul fi'om the wicked (with) thy sword." So Luther, " With thy sword." The Hebrew will undoubtedly admit of this latter construction, as in a similar passage in ver. 10 of this psalm; and this construction is found in the margin: " By thy sword." The sentiment that the wicked are the "' sword" of God, or the instruments, though unconsciously to themselves, of accomplishing his purposes, or that he makes them the executioners of his will, is undoubtedly favoured by such passages as Isa. X. 5 — 7 (see Notes on those verses), and should be properly recognised. But such a construction is not necessary in the place before us, and it does not well agree with the connexion, for it is not easy to see why the psalmist should make the fact that the wicked were instruments in the hand of God in accomplishing his purposes a reason why He should interpose and deliver him from them. It seems to me, therefore, that the construction of De Wette and others, " Save me from the.icked by thy sword," is the true

hand, O Lord, from men of the world, ivldch have their portion in this '' life, and whose belly thou

one. The psalmist asked that God would interfere by his own hand, and save him from danger. The same construction, if it be the correct one, is required in the following verse.

14. From men which are thy hand. Marg., From menhy thy hand. Here the rendering in the common version would be still more harsh than in the previous verse, since it is at least unusual to call men " the hand " of God, in the sense that they are his instruments in accomplishing his purposes. The more obvious construction is to regard it as a prayer that God would deliver him' by his own hand from men — from men that rose up against him. Comp. 2 Sam. xxiv. 14. ^r From men of the world. A better construction of this would be " from men; from the world." The psalmist prays first that he may be delivered from men by the hand of God. He then repeats the prayer, " from men, I say," and then adds, " from the world." He desires to be rescued entii-ely from such worldly plans, devices, purposes; — from men among whom nothing but worldly principles prevail. ^ Wliich have their portion in this life. Their portion — their lot — is among the living; that is, they have nothing to look forward to — to hope for in the world to come. They are, therefore, governed wholly by worldly principles. They have no fear of God; they have no regard to the rights of others further than will be in accordance with their own worldly interest. Men whose portion is wholly in this life will make everything subordinate to their worldly interests. ^ And ivhose belly thou fiUest with thy hid treasure. The meaning of this portion of the verse is that, in respect to the object for which they lived, they were successful. They lived only for the world, and tliey obtained what the

fill est with thy hid treasure: ^ they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance

1 Or, their children are full.

15 As for me, I will behold thy * face in righteousness: I

world had to bestow. They had prosperity in their purposes in life. The Avord " hid " here — hid treasure — means that which is hoarded, secreted, carefully guarded; and the word commonly refers to the practice of secreting from public view valuable treasures, as silver and gold. It is possible, however, that the reference jierc is to the fact that God has hidden these objects in the depths of the earth, and that it is necessary to search for them carefully if men would obtain them. Comp. Job xxviii. 1 — 11. The phrase " whose belly thou hast filled" means that their appetite or cravings in this respect were satisfied. They had what they wanted. ^ Tkei/ are full of children. Marg., their children are full. The margin probably expresses the sense of the Hebrew better than the text. The literal rendering would be, " satisfied are their sons;" that is, they have enough to satisfy the wauts of their children. The expression " they are full of children" is harsh and unnatural, and is not demanded by the original, or by the main thought in the passage. The obvious signification is, that they have enough for themselves and for their children. ^ And leave the rest of their substance to their babes. That is, what remains after their own wants are supplied, they leave to their babes. They not only have enough for the supply of their own wants aiid the wants of their children during their own lives, but they also leave an inheritance to their children after they are dead. The word rendered babes properly means little children, though it seems here to be used as denoting children in general. The meaning is, that they are able to provide for their children after they themselves arc dead. Compare the description of worldly prosperity in Job xxi. 7 — 11.

15. As for me. In strong contrast with the aims, the desires, and the condition of worldly men. The^ seek their portion in this life, and are satisfied; / cherish no such desires, and have no such prosperity. I look to another world as my home, and shall be satisfied only in the everlasting favour and friendship of God. ^ x tvill behold thy face. I shall see thee. Comp. Matt. v. 8; 1 Cor. xiii. 12; 1 John iii. 2. This refers naturally, as the closing part of the verse more fully shows, to the future world, and is such language as would be employed by those who believe in a future state, and by no others. This is the highest object before the mind of a truly religious man. The bliss of heaven consists mainlj', in his apprehension, in the privilege of seeing God his Saviour; and the hope of being permitted to do this is of infinitely more value to him than would be all the wealth of this world. % In righteousness. Being myself righteous; being delivered from the power, the pollution, the dominion of sin. It is this which makes heaven so desirable; without this, in the apprehension of a truly good man, no place would be heaven. ^ I shall be satisfied. While they are satisfied with this world, 1 shall be satisfied only when 1 awake in the likeness of my God. Nothing can meet the wants of my nature; nothing can satisfy the aspirings of my soul, until that occurs. ^ When I aivaJce. This is language which would be employed only by one who believed in the resurrection of the dead, and who was accustomed to speak of death as a sleep — a calm repose in the hope of awaking to a new life. Comp. Notes on Ps. xvi. 9-11. Some have understood this as meaning " when I awake to-morrow;" and they thence infer that this was an evening song (comp. Ps. iv. 8); others have supposed that it had a more general sense, — mean- shall be satisfied, when I awake, ing *^iiihenever I nwake;" that is, while men of the world rejoice in their worldly possessions, and while tliis is the ilrst thought which they have on awaking in tlie morning, my joy ulien I awake is in God; — in tlie evidence of hisfovour and friendship; — in tlie consciousness that I resemble him. I am surprised to find that Professor Alexander favours this view. Even De Wette admits that it refers to the resurrection of the dead, and thut the psalm can be interpreted only on the supposition that it has this reference, and hence he argues that it could not have been composed by David, but that it must have been written in the time of the Exile, when that doctrine had obtained currency amoT)g the Hebrews. The interpretation above suggested seems to me to be altogether too lov/ a view to be taken of the sense of the passage. It does not meet the state of mind described in the psalm. It does not correspond with the deep anxieties which the psalmist expressed as springing from the troubles which surrounded him. He sought repose Irom those troubles; he looked for consolation when surrounded by bitter and unrelenting enemies. He was oppressed and cruslied with these many sorrows. Now it would do little to meet that state of mind, and to impart to him the consolation which he needed, to reflect that he could lie down in the night and awake in the morning with the consciousness that he enjoyed the friendship of God, for he had that already; and besides this, so far as this source of consolation was concerned, he would awake to a renewal of the same troubles to-morrow which he had met on tlie previous day. He needed some higher, some more enduring and efficient consolation; something which would meet all the circumstances of the case; some source of peace, composure, and rest, which was beyond all this; something which would have aa existence where thero was »io trouble or anxiety; — and this could be found only in a future world. The obvious interpretation of the passage, therefore, so far as its sense can be determined from the connexion, is to refer it to the awaking in the morning of the resurrection; and there is nothing in the language itself, or in the known sentiments of tlie psalmist, to forbid this interpretation. The word rendered awake — V^p, kootz — used only in Hiphil, means to aivake; — to awake from sleep, Ps. iii. 5; cxxxix. 18; or from death, 2 Kings iv. 31; Jer. li. 39; Isa. xxvi. 19; Job xiv. 12; Dan. xii. 2. ^ With thy likeness. Or, in thy likeness; that is, resembling thee. The resemblance doubtless is in the moral character, for the highest hope of a good man is that he may be, and will be, like God. Comp. Notes on 1 John iii. 2. I regard this passage, therefore, as one of the incidental proofs scattered through the Old Testament which show that the sacred writers under that dispensation believed in the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead; that their language was often based on the knowledge and the belief of that doctrine, even when they did not expressly affirm it; and that in times of trouble, and under the consciousness of sin, they sought their highest consolation, as the people of God do now, from the hope and the expectation that the righteous dead will rise again, and that in a world free from trouble, from sin, and from death, they would live for ever in the presence of God, and find their supreme happiness in being made v/hoUy like

This psalm is found, with some unimportant variations, in 2 Samuel xxii. In that liistory, as in the inscriution of the psalm here, it is said to have been composed by David on the occasion wlien the Lord " delivered him from tlie hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul." There can, Ihererorc, be no doubt that Da\dcl was the author, nor can there be anj' as to the occasion on \.'hich it was composed. It is a song of victory, and is beyond doubt the most sublime ode that was ever composed on such an occasion. David, long pursued and harassed by foes who sought his life, at length felt that a complete triumph was obtained, and that he and his kingdom were safe, and he pours forth the utterances of a grateful heart for God's merciful and might}' interposition, in language of the highest sublimity, and with the utmost grandeur of poetic imagery. Xowhere else, even in the sacred Scriptures, are there to be found images more beautiful, or expressions more sublime, than those which occur in this psalm.

From the place which this psalm occujiies in the history of the life of David ('2 Sam. xxii.), it is probable that it was composed in the latter years of his life, though it occupies this early place in the liook of Psalms. "We have no reason to believe that the pi'inciple adopted in the arrangement of tlio Psalms Avas to place them in chronological order; and we Ccinnot determhie whj' in that arrangement this psalm has the place which has been assigned to it; but we cannot well be mistaken in supposing that it was composed at a somewhat advanced period of the life of David, and that it was in fact among the last of his compositions. Thus in the Eook of Samuel, it is placed (cli. xxii.) immediately preceding a chapter (xxiii.) which professes (ver.l) to record '* the last words of David." And thus in the title it is said to have been composed)vhen "the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies," an event Avhich occurred only at a comparativelj' late period of his life. The circumstance Avhich is mentioned in the title — "and out of the hand of Saul" — does not necessarily conflict with this view, or make it necessary for us to suppose that it was composed immediately after his deli\'erance from, the hand o'f Saul. To David, recording and recounting the great events of his life, that deliverance would occur as one of the most momentous and worthy of a grateful remembrance, for it was a deliverance which was the foundation of all his subsequent successes, and in Avhich the Divine interposition had been most remarkable. At any time of his life it would be proper to refer to this as demanding special acknowledgment. Saul had been among the most formidable of all his enemies. The most distresshig and harassing events of his life had occurred in the time of his conflicts with him. God's interpositions in his behalf had occurred in the most remarkable manner, in delivering him from the dangers of that period of his history. It was natural and pro]i(>r, therefore, in a general song of praise, composed in view (it all God's interpositions in his behalf, that he should ref; r particularly to those dangers and deliverances. This opinion, that the psalm was composed when David was aged, Avhioh seems so obvious, is the opinion of Jarchi and Kimchi, of Eosenmiiller and De Wette. The strong imagery, then^fore, in the psalm, describing mighty convulsions of nature (vers. 6- 16), 'is to be understood, not as a literal description, but as narrating God's gracious interposition in the time of danger, as if the Lord had spoken to him out of the temple; as if the earth had trembled; as if its foundations had been shaken; as if a. smoke had gone out of his nostrils; as if he had bowed the heavens and come doAvn; as if he had thundei-ed in the heavens, and had sent out hailstones and coals of fire, etc.

From the fact that there are variations, though not of an essential character, in the two copies of the psalm, it would seem not improbable that it had been revised by David himself, or by some other pers'on, after it was first composed, and that one copj- was used by the author of the Book of Samuel, and the other by the collector and arranger of the Book of Psalms. These variations are not important, and by no means change the essential character of the psalm. It is not A-ery easj- to see ichij the}' were made, if they were made designedly, or to accountfor them if theyAverenot soinade. They are such as the following: Tho introduction, or the title of it, is adapted, in the psalm before us, to the purposes for Avhichit Avas designed, Avhen it Avas admitted into the collection. " To the chief ^Musician, a Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, Avho spake unto the Lord the Avords," etc. The first A-erse of Ps. xviii., "I Avill love thee, O Lord, my strength," is not found in the psalm as it is in the Book of Samuel. The second A-erse of the psalm is, "The Lord is my rock, and m\ fortress, and my deliverer; mv God, my strength, in Avhom I Avill' trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvatioii, and my high toAver." In Samiud, tho corresponding passage is, " The Lord is

It is impossible now to account for these variations. Hammond, Kennicott, and othei-^, suppose that they occurred from the errors of transcribers. But to this oninion Schultens opposes unanswerable objections. He refers particula ly ( /) to the multitude and variety of tlic chni::cs; (b) to the condition or state of the codices; (c) to the nature of the variations, or to the fact that changers are made in words, and not merely in letters of similar forms wdiich might be mistaken for each other. See his arguments in Itoseiimiiller, Schol.,vol. i., pp. 441-443. It seems most probable, therefore, that these changes were made by design, and that it was done either by David, who revised th(} original composition, and issued two forms of the poem, one of which Avas inserted in the history in Samuel, and the other in the collection of the Psalms; or that the changes were made by the collector of the Psalms, Avhen they were arranged for public worship. The former supposition is a ]jossil)le one; though, as the psalm was composed near the close of the life of Da\id, it would seem not to be very l)robable. The most natural supposition, therefore, is, that tlie chang(?s were made by the collector of the Psalms, wlioever he might be, or by the person who presided OA'er this part of public worship m the temple, and that the changes were made for some reason which we cannot now understand, as better adapting the psalm to musical purposes. Uoederlein supposes that the recension w^as made by

* i.e., after the notation in the Hebrew Psalter, wliidi accorda with tJie numbering of the verses in Samuel.

some later poet, for the purpose of "polishing" the language; of giving it a more tinished poetic form; and of adapting it better to public use; and he regards both forms as " genuine, elegant, sublime; the one more ancient, the other more polished and refined." It seems most i)robable that the changes were made with a view to some rhythmical or musical effect, or for the purpose of adapthig the psalm to the music of the temple service. Such changes would depend on causes which could be now little understood, as we are not suthciently acquainted with the music employed in public worship by the Hebrews, nor are w'e now competent to understand the effect which, in this respect, would be produced by a slight change of phraseology. Variations of a similar nature now exist in psalms and hymns which could not be well explained or understood by one who was not familiar with our language and with our music, and which, after as long an interval as that between the time when the Psalms w(n-o arranged for musical purposes and the present time, w^ould be wholly unintelligible.

I. A general acknowledgment of God, and thanks to him, as the Deliverer in the time of troubles, and as worthy to be praised, vers. 1 -3.

II. A brief description of the troubles and dangers from which the psalmist had been rescued, vers. 4, 5.

III. A description, conceived in the highest forms of poetic language, of the Divine interposition in times of danger,

IV. A statement of the psalmist that this interposition Avas of such a nature as to vindicate his own character, or to show that his cause Avas a righteous cause; that he was right, and that his enemies had been in the Avrong; that God appro\'ed his course, and disapproved the course of his enemies: or, in other Avords, that these interpositions Avere such as to prove that God Avas just, and Avould deal Avith men according to their character,

V. A recapitulation of what God had done for him, in enabling him to sulidue his enemies, and a statement of the effect Avhich he supposed Avould be produced on others by the report of Avhat God had done in his behalf, vers. 31-45.

VI. A general expression of thaulcsgiving to God as the author of aU theso

To the chief Musician. A FsaJm of David, the servant/of tiie Lord, who spake unto the Lord the words g of this song in the day that tlie Lord deUvered him from the liand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: And he said,

blessings, and as worthy of universal confidence and jjraise, vers. 46-50.

The TITLE. 'H To the chief Musician. See Notes to the title of Psalm iv. H A Psalm of David. The words " A Psalm* ' are not here in the original, and may convey a slightly erroneous impression, as if the psalm had been composed for the express purpose of benig used publicly in the worship of God. In the corresponding place in 2 Sam. xxii., it is described as a " Song" of David: — " And David spalce unto the Lord the words of this so)if/." It was originally an expression of his private gratitude for God's distinguisliing mercies, and was afterwards, as we have seen, probably adapted to purposes of public worship by some one of a later age. H The servant of the Loud. This expression also is wanting in 2 Sam. xxii. It is imdoubtedly an addition by a later hand, as indicating the general character which David had acquired, or as denoting the national estimate in regard to his character. The same expression occurs in the title to Ps. xxxvi. The Chaldee Paraphrase translates this title: " To be sung over the wonderful things which abundantly happened to the servant of the Lord, to David, who sang," etc. The use of the phrase here—" the servant of the Lord" — by him Avho made the collection of the Psalms, would seem to imply that he regarded the psalm as having a sufficiently public character to make it proper to introduce it into a collection designed for general worship. In other words, David was not, in the view of the author of the collection, a private man, but Avas eminently a public servant of Jehovah; and a song of grateful remembrance of God's mercies to him was entitled to be r(garled as expressing the appropriate feelings of God's people in similar circumstance's in all times. H Who spake unto the Lord. Composed it as giving utt(n-ance to his feelings towards the Lord. H The words of this song in the day tliat the Lord delivered him. When tlie l^ord had delivered liim; when he felt that he was completely rescued from aU his foes. This does not mean that the psalm was composed on a particular day when God had by some one signal act rescued him from impending danger, but it refers to a calm period of his life, when he could review^ the past, and see that God had rescued him from all the enemies that had ever threatened his peace. This would probably, as has been suggested above, occur near the close of his life. H From the hand of all his enemies. Out of the hand, or the power. There is here a general view of the mercy of God m rescuing him from all his foes. ^ And from the hand of Said. Saul had been one of his most formidable enemies, and the Avars Avith him had been among the most CA'cntful periods of the life of David. In a general revicAv of his life, near its close, hb Avould naturally recur to the dangers of that period, and to God's gracious interpositions in his behalf, and it Avould seem to him that what God had done for him in those times deserved a special record. The original Avord here — 1]5, ka2)h — is not the same as in the corresponding place in 2 Sam. xxii. — T^, yad —though the idea is substantially the same. The Avord here used means properly the palm or hollow of the hand; the Avord used in Samuel means the hand itself. Why the change Avas made Ave have not the means of ascertaining. IT And he said. So 2 Sam. xxii. 2. What follows is what he said.

1. I trill love thee, O Loed. This A'erse is not found in the song in 2 Sam. xxii. It appears to have been added, after the first composition of the psalm, either by David as expressive of his ardent love for the Lord in vicAV of his merciful interpositions in his behalf, and on the most cai*eful and most mature review of those mercies, or by the collector of the Psalms Avhen they Avere adapted to purposes of public Avorship, as a proper commencement of the psalm — expressive of the feeling which the general tenor of the psalm Avas fitted to inspire. It is impossible now to determine by

2 The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my ^ strength, in whom

I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my his:h tower.

whom it was added; but no one can doubt that it is a proper commencenicut of a psahn that is designed to recount so many mercies. It is the fecUng which all should have wlien they recall the goodness of God to them in their past lives. ^ 31// strength. The source of my strength, or from whom all my strength is derived. So Ps. xxvi'i. 1, "The Lord is the strengfth of my life." Ps, xxviii. 8, " He is the saving strength of his anointed." Comp. Ps. xxix. 11; xlvi. 1; Ixxiii. 26; Ixxxi. 1; cxl. 7.

2. The Lord is mi/ rock. The idea in this expression, and ia the subsequent parts of the description, is that he owed his safety entirely to God. He had been unto him as a rock, a tower, a buckler, etc. — that is, he had derived from God the protection which a rock, a tower, a citadel, a buckler furnished to those who depended on them, or which they were designed to secure. The word " rock " here has reference to the fiict that in times of danger a lofty rock would be sought as a place of safety, or that men would fly to it to escape from their enemies. Such rocks abound in Palestine; and by the fact that they are elevated and difficult of access, or by the fact that those who fled to them could find shelter behind their projecting crags, or by the fact that they could find security in their deep and dark caverns, they became places of refuge in times of danger; and protection was often found there when it could not be found in the plains below. Comp. Judges vi. 2; Ps. xxvii. 5; Ixi. 2. Also, Jos. Ant., b. xiv., ch. XV. ^ And mi/ fortress. He has been to me as a fortress. The word fortress means a place of defence, a place so strengthened that an enemy could not approach it, or where one would be safe. Such fortresses were often constructed on the rocks or on hills, where those who fled thither would be doubly safe. Comp. Job xxxix. 28. See also Notes on Isa. xxxiii. 16. ^ And my deliverer. Delivering or rescuing me from my enemies. ^ Ml/ God. Who hast been to me a God; that is, in whom I have found all that is implied in the idea of God — a Protector, Helper, Friend, Father, Saviour. The notion or idea of a God is different from all other ideas, and David had found, as the Christian now does, all that is implied in that idea, in Jehovah, the living God. ^ My strength. Marg., 3Iy rock. So the Hebrew, although the Hebrew word is different from that which is used in the former part of the verse. Both words denote that God was a refuge or protection, as a rock or crag is to one in danger (comp. Deut. xxxii. 37), though the exact difference between the words may not be obvious. ^ In lohom I ivill trust. That is, I have found him to be such a refuge that I cotdd trust in him, and in view of the past I will confide in him always. ^ My buckler. The word here used is the same which occurs in Ps. iii. 3, where it is translated shield. See Notes on that verse. ^ And the horn of my salvation. The horn is to animals the means of their defence. Their strength lies in the horn. Hence the word is used here, as elsewhere, to represent that to which we owe our protection and defence in danger; and the idea here is, that God was to the psalmist what the horn is to animals, the means or his defence. Comp. Ps. xxii. 21; Ixxv. 4, 5, 10; xcii. 10; cxxxii. 17; cxlviii. 14. ^ And my high tower. He is to me what a high tower is to one who is in danger. Comp. Pro v. xviii. 10, " The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe." The word here used occurs in Ps. ix. 9, where it is rendered " refuge." (Marg., A high place.) See Notes on that verse.

3 I will call upon the Lord who is worthy * to be praised: so ' shall I be saved from mine ene-

Sach to\vers were erected on mountains, on rocks, or on the walls of a city, and were re^^arded as safe places mainly because they were inaccessible. So the old castles in Europe, — as that at Heidelberg, and generally those along the Rhine, — were built on lofty places, and in such positions as not to be easily accessible.

3. I ivill call upon the LoED. The idea here is, that he would constantly call upon the Lord. In all times of trouble and danger he would goto him, and invoke his aid. The experience of the past had been such as to lead him to put confidence in him in all time to come. He had learned to flee to bim in danger, and he had never put his trust in him in vain. The idea is, that a proper view of God's dealings with us in the past should lead us to feel that we may put confidence in him in the future. ^ Who is worthy to he praised. More literally, " Him who is to be praised I will call upon, Jehovah." The prominent — the leading thought is, that God is a being every wo-y worthy of praise. ^ So shall I be saved from my enemies. Ever onward, and at all times. He had had such ample experience of his protection that he could confide in him as one who would deliver him from all his foes.

4. The sorrows of death compassed me. Surrounded me. That is, he was in imminent danger of death, or in the midst of such pangs and sorrows as are supposed commonly to attend on death. He refers probably to some period in his past life — perhaps in the persecutions of Saul — when he was so beset with troubles and difiiculties that it seemed to him that he must die. The word rendered sorrows — 51111, Jihebel — means, according to Gesenius, a cord, a rope, and hence a snare, gin, noose; and the idea here is, according to Gesenius, that he was taken

4 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of i ungodly men made me afraid.

as it were in the snares of death, or in the bands of death. So Ps. cxvi. 3. Our translators, however, and it seems to me more correctly, regarded the word as derived from the same noun differently pointed — J^rin, hhaihel — meaning u'rithings, pangs, j^ains, as in Isa. Ixvi. 7; Jer. xiii. 21; xxii. 23; Hos. xiii. 13; Job xxxix. 3. So the Chaldee Paraphrase, " Pangs as of a woman in childbirth came around me." So the Vulgate, dolor es. So the LXX., ijclvtq. The corresponding place in 2 Sam. xxii. is, " Tlie waves of death." The word which is used there — ~lllt!p?p, mlshhar — means properly waves which break upon the shore — breakers. See Ps, xiii. 7; Ixxxviii. 7; Jonah ii, 3. Why the change was made in the psalm it is not possible to determine. Either word denotes a condition of great danger and alarm, as ir death was inevitable. % And the floods of ungodh/ men. Marg,, as in Heb., Belial. The word Belial means properly without itse or profit; and then worthless, abandoned, wicked. It is applied to wicked men as being tvorthless to society, and to all the proper ends of life. Though the term here undoubtedly refers to ivicTced men, yet it refers to them as being worthless or abandoned — low, vulgar, useless to mankind. The word rendered ^^oo(f>s — yXV^, nahlial — means in the singular, properly, a stream, brook, rivulet; and then, a torrent, as formed by rain and snow-water in the mountains, Job vi. 15. The Avord here used refers to such men as if they were poured forth in streams and torrents — in such multitudes that the psalmist was likely to be overwhelmed by them, as one would be by floods of water. ^ Made me afraid. Made me apprehensive of losing my life. To what particular period of his life he here refers it is impossible now to determine.

5 Tlie 1 sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of deatli prevented me.

God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before ' him, even into his ears.

7 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also

5. T/ie sorroios of hell. Mtirg., cords. The word here used is tlic same Avliicli occurs iu the previous verse, and which is there rendered sorrows. It is correctly translated here, as in that verse, sorrows, though the parallelism would seem to favour the interpretation in the margin, — cords. It' it means sorrows, the idea is, that such sutlerings encompassed him, or seized upon him, as we associate in idea with the descent to the under-world, or the going down to the dead. If it means cords, or bands, then the idea is, that he was seized with pain as if with coi'ds thrown around him, and that were dragging him down to the abodes of the dead. Luther, De Wette, Prof. Alexander, Hengstenberg, and others render the word, iu each of these places, bands. On the word here rendered Jtell, • INIJp, SJieol, see Notes on Isa. xiv. 9. It means here the under-ioorld, the regions of the dead. It is a description of one who was overcome with the dread of death. ^ The snares of death. The word snares refers to the gins, toils, nets, which are used in taking wild beasts, by suddenly throwing cords around them, and binding them fast. The idea here is, that Death had thus thrown around him its toils or scares, and had bound him fast. *fl" Prevented me. The word here used in Hebrew, as our word prevent did originally, means to anticipate, to go before. The idea here is that those snares had, as it were, suddenly rushed upon him, or seized him. They came before him in his goings, and bound him fast.

6. In my distress. This refers, most probably, not to any particular case, but rather indicates his general habit of mind, that when he was in deep distress and danger he had uniformly called upon the Lord, and had found him ready to help. ^ / called upon the Lokd. I prayed. That is, he invoked God to help liim in his trouble. He relied not on his own strength; he looked not for human aid; he looked to God alone. ^ And cried unto my God. The word used here denotes an earnest cry for help. Comp. Job XXXV. 9; xxxvi. 13. ^ lie heard my voice out of his temple. That is, he, being in his temple, heard my voice. The word rendered temple (comp. Notes on Ps. v. 7) cannot refer here to the temple at Jerusalem, for that was built after the death of David, but it refers either to heaven, considered as the temple, or dwellingplace of God, or to the tabernacle, considered as his abode on earth. The sense is not materially varied, whichever interpretation is adopted. Comp. Ps. xi. 4. ^ And my cry came before him. He heard my cry. It was not intercepted on the way, but came up to him. ^ Even into his ears. Indicating that he certainly heard it. Comp. Gen. xxiii. 10; xliv. 18; 1. 4; Ex. X. 2: Ps. xxxiv. 15.

7. Then the earth shoo/c and trembled. The description which follows here is one of the most sublime that is to be found in any language. It is taken from the fury of the storm and tempest, when all the elements are in commotion; when God seems to go forth in the greatness of his majesty and the terror of his power, to prostrate everything before him. We are not to regard this as descriptive of anything which literally occurred, but rather as expressive of the f\ict of the Divine interposition, as if he thus came forth in the greatness of his power. There is no improbability indeed in supposing that in some of the dangerous periods of

of tlie hills moved and were shaken, because he was wi'oth.

8 There Avent up a smoke i out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were

9 He bowed "' the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.

David's life, when surrounded by enemies, or even when in the midst of a battle, a furious tempest may have occurred that seemed to be a special Divine interposition in his behalf, but we have no distinct record of such an event, and it is not necessary to suppose that such an event occurred in order to a correct understanding of the passage. All that is needful is to regard this as a representation of the mighty interposition of'God; to supi>ose that his intervention was as direct, as manifest, and as sublime, as if he had thus interposed. There are frequent references in the Scriptures to such storms and tempests as illustrative of the majesty, the power, and the glory of God, and of the manner in which he interposes on behalf of his people. See Ps. cxliv. 5-7; xlvi. 6-8; xxix.; Job xxxvii. 21-24; xxxviii. 1; Nahum i. 3; and particularly Habakkuk iii. 3-16. The description in Habakkuk strongly resembles the passage before us, and both were drawn doubtless from an actual observation of the fury of a tempest. ^ The foundations also of the hills moved. The mountains seemed to rock on their fovmdations. In the corresponding place in 2 Sam. xxii. 8 the expression is, " The foundations of heaven moved and shook;" that is, that on which the heavens seem to rest was agitated. Many suppose that the expression refers to the mountains as if they bore up the heavens; but De Wette more properly supposes that the reference is to the heavens as a building or an edifice resting on foundations. Why the change was made in revising the psalm from the " foundations of the heavens " to the " foundations of the hills," it is impossible now to determine. ^ Because he was toroth. Literally, "Because it was inflamed

(or enkindled) to him;" that is, because he was angry. Anger is often compared to a raging flame, because it seems to consume everything before it. Hence we speak of it as heated, as hurning. So we say of one that he is inflamed hy passion. The expression here is sublime in the highest degree. God seemed to be angry, and hence he came forth in this awful manner, and the very earth trembled before him.

8. There tvent v.p a smoke out of his nostrils. Marg., hy his; that is, as it is understood in the margin, the smoke seemed to be produced by his nostrils, or to be caused by his breathing. The comparison, according to Kosenmiiller and De Wette, is derived from wild beasts when excited with anger, and when their rage is indicated by their violent breathing. Comp. Ps. Ixxiv. 1; Deut. xxix. 20; Isa. Ixv, 5. ^ And fire out of his mouth devoured. That is, the clouds seemed to be poured forth from his nostrils, and the lightning from his mouth. So in Habakkuk iii. 5: " Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet." ^ Coals ivere kindled ly it. Everything seemed to glow and burn. The lightning, that appeared to flash from his mouth, set everything on fire. The heavens and the earth were in a blaze.

9. He bowed the heavens also. He seemed to bend down the heavens, — to bring them nearer to the earth. " He inclines the canopy of the heavens, as it were, towards the earth; wraps himself in the darkness of night, and shoots forth his arrows; hurls abroad his lightnings, and wings them with speed." Herder, Spirit of Hebrew Poetry (Marsh), ii. 157. The allusion is still to the tempest, when the clouds run low; when they

10 And lie rode upon a clierub, and did fly; yea, he did fly upon the winci's of the wind.

seem to sweep alon<^ the ground; "vvheu it jippears as if the heavens -svere hrought nearer to the earth — as if, to use a coniniou expression, " the heavens and earth were coming together." ^ And came down. God himself seemed to descend in the fury of the storm, % And darkness was under his feet. A dark chuid; or, the darkness caused hy thick clouds. Comp. Nahum i. 3, " The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet." Deut. iv. 11, " the mountain burned... with thick darkness." V. 22, " These words the Lord spake out of the thick darkness." Ps, xcvii. 2, " Clouds and darkness are round about him." The idea here is that of awful majesty and power, as v/e are nowhere more forcibly impressed with the idea of majesty and power than in the fury of a storm.

10. And he rode upon a cheruh. Comp. Notes on Isa. xiv. 13; xxxvii. 16. The cherub in the theology of the Hebrews Avas a figurative representation of power and majesty, under the image of a being of a high and celestial nature, " whose form is represented as composed from the figures of a man, ox, lion, and eagle," Ezek. i., X. Cherubs are first mentioned as guarding the gates of Paradise, Gen. iii. 24; then as bearing the throne of God upon their wings through the clouds, Ezek. i., x.; and also as statues or images made of wood and overlaid with gold, over the cover of the ark, in the inner sanctuai'y of the tabernacle, and of the temple, Ex. XXV. IS, seq.; 1 Kings vi. 23-28. Between the two cherubim in the temple, the Shechinah, or visible symbol of the presence of God, rested; and hencG God is represented as "dwelling between the cherubim," Ex. XXV. 22; Num. vli. 89; Ps. Ixxx. 1; xcix. 1. The cherubim are not to be regarded as real existences, or as

1 1 He made darkness Ins secret place: his pavilion " round about

an order of angels like the seraphim (Isa. vi. 2, 3), but as an imaginary representation of majesty, as emblematic of the power and glory of God. Here God is represented as " riding on a cherub;" that is, as coming forth on the clouds regarded as a cherub (comp. Ezek. i.), as if, seated on his throne, he was borne along in majesty and power amidst the storm and tempest. ^ And didjly. He seemed to move rapidly on the fiying clouds. ^ Yea, he did fly upon the ivings of the wind. Rapidly as the clouds driven along by the wind. The " tvincfs of the wind " are designed to represent the rapidity with which the wind sweeps along. Ilapid motion is represented by the flight of birds; hence the term wings is applied to winds to denote the rapidity of their movement. The whole figure here is designed to represent the majesty with which God seemed to be borne along on the tempest. Herder renders it, " He flew on the wings of the storm."

11. Se made darkness his secret place. Herder has beautifully rendered this verse,

The word rendered secret place — "IDD, saither — means properly a hiding; then something hidden, private, secret. Hence it means a covering, a veil. Comp. Job xxii. 14; xxiv. 15. In Ps. Ixxxi. 7 it is applied to thunder: " I answered thee in the secret place of thunder;" that is, in the secret place or retreat, — the deep, dark cloud, whence the thunder seems to come. Here the meaning seems to be, that God was encompassed with darkness. He had, as it were, wrapped himself in night, and made his abode in the gloom of the storm. ^ Mis pavilion. His tent, for so the word means. Comp. Ps. xxvii. 5; xxxi. 20. His abode was in the midst of clouds and waters, or watery cloudo.

12 At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail-s^ones and coals of Hre.

^ Round about him. Perhaps a more literal translation would be, " the thhigs round about him — his tent (shelter, or cover) — were the darkness of waters, the clouds of the skies." The idea is, that he seemed to he encompassed with watery clouds. ^ Dark tcaters. Heb., darkness of xi-aiers. The allusion is to clouds tilled with water; charged with rain, % Thick clouds of the skies. The word rendered 5^-/^5 in this place — D^prTTl), shehhdkim — means, in the singular, dust, as being fine; then a cloud, as a cloud of dust; then, in the plural, it is used to denote clouds, Job xxxviii, 37; and hence it is used to denote the region of the clouds; the firmament; the sky; Job xxxvii, 18. Perhaps a not inaccurate rendering here would be, " clouds of clouds;" that is, clouds rolled in with clouds; clouds of one kind rapidly succeeding those of another kind — inrolling and piled on each other. There are four different kinds of clouds; and though we cannot suppose that the distinction was accurately marked in the time of the psalmist, yet to the olightest observation there is a distinction in the clouds, and it is possible that bv the use of two terms here, both denoting clouds — one thick and dense, and the other clouds as resembling dust — the psalmist meant to intimate that clouds of all kinds rolled over ti'.e firmament, and that these constituted the " pavilion " of God,

12. At the brightness that was before him. From the flash — the play of the lightnings that seemed to go before him. *j[ His thick clouds ])assed. Or, vanished. They seemed to pass away. The light, the flash, the blaze, penetrated those clouds, and seemed to dispel, or to scatter

13 The LoED also thundered ^in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hidl-stones and coals of fire.

14 Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot

them. The whole heavens were in a blaze, as if there were no clouds, or as if the clouds were all driven awaj. The reference here is to the appearance when the vivid flashes of lightning seem to penetrate and dispel the clouds, and the heavens seem to be lighted up with a universal flame. ^ Sail-stones. That is, hail-stones followed, or fell. ^ And coals of fire. There seemed to be coals of fire rolling along the ground, or falling from the sky. In the corresponding place in 2 Sam. xxii, 13 the expression is, " Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled." That is, fires were kindled by the lightning. The expression in the psalm is more terse and compact, but the reason of the change cannot be assigned.

13. The LOED also thundered in the heavens. Thunder is often in the Scriptures described as the voice of God. See the magnificent description in Ps. xxix.; comp. Job xl. 9, " Canst thou thunder with a voice like him?" So 1 Sam. vii. 10; xii, 18; Ps, Ixxvii. 18; Job xxxvii. 4. ^ And the Highest gave his voice. God, the most exalted Being in the universe, uttered his voice in the thunder; or, the thimder was his voice, ^ Mail-stones, and coals of fire. Accompanying the thunder. The repetition seems to be because these were such striking and constant accompaniments of the storm.

14. Yea, tie sent out his arroivs. The word arrows here probably refers to the lightnings mentioned in the other clause of the verse. Those lightnings scattered around, and accomplishing such destruction, seemed to be arrows sent forth from the hand of God. ^ And scattered them. Herder refers this to the lightnings; Be Wette, to the enemies of the ont liglitnings, and discomfited them.

15 Tiien « tlie channels of ■waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils. q Psa. cvi. 9.

16 He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out o£ 1 many waters.

17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.

psahnist. The latter seems to be the more correct interpretation, though the enemies of the psalmist are not here particularly specified. They seem, however, to have been in his eye throughout the psalm, for it was the victory achieved over them by the Divine interposition that he was celebrating throughout the poem. ^ And he shot out light' nings. As arrows; or, as from a bow. ^ And discomfited them. Literally to impel, to drive; then, to put in commotion or consternation. The allusion is to an army whose order is disturbed, or which is thrown into confusion, and which is, therefore, easily conquered. The idea is that David achieved a victory over all his enemies, as if God had scattered them by a storm and tempest.

15. Then the channels of waters were seen. In 2 Sam. xxii. 16 this is, "And the channels of the sea appeai-ed." The idea is that, by the driving of the storm and tempest, the waters were driven on heaps, leaving the bottom bare. In the place before us the word used, " waters " — U')P, mayim — would denote waters of any kind — seas, lakes, rivers; in the corresponding place in 2 Samuel, the word used — Q"*, Ychn — denotes, properly, the sea or the ocean. The word rendered channels means a pipe or tube; then a channel, or bed of a brook or stream, Isa. viii. 7; Ezek. xxxii. 6; and then the bottom of the sea or of a river. The allusion is to the eflect of a violent wind, driving the waters on hea|)S, and seeming to leave the l)ed or channel bare. ^ The foundations of the world were discovered. Were laid open; were manifested or revealed. Men seemed to be able to look down into the depths, and to see the very foundations on which the earth rests. The world is often represented as resting on a foundation, Ps, cii. 25; Isa. xlviii. 13; Zech. xii. 1; Prov. viii. 29; see Notes on Job xxxviii. 4. ^ At thy rebuke. At the expression of his anger or displeasure; as if God, in the fury of the tempest, was expressing his indignation and wrath. ^ At the blast of the breath of thy nostrils. At the breathing forth of anger, as it were, from his nostrils. See Notes on ver. 8.

16. He sent from above. He interposed to save me. All these manifestations of the Divine interposition wei'e from above, or from heaven; all came from God. ^ lie took me. He took hold on me; he rescued me. ^ He drew me out of many tcaters. Marg., great waters. Waters are often expressive of calamity and trouble, Ps. xlvi. 3; Ixix. 1; Ixxiii. 10; cxxiv. 4, 5, The meaning here is, that God had rescued him out of the many troubles and dangers that encompassed him, as if he had fiillen into the sea and was in danger of perishing.

17. Be delivered me from my strong enemy. The enemy that had more power than I had, and that was likely to overcome me. It is probable that the allusion here in the mind of the psalmist would be particularly to Saul. ^ And from them which hated me. From all who hated and persecuted me, in the time of Saul, and ever onward during my life. ^ For they tcere too strong for me. I had no power to resist them, and when I was about to sink ur.der their opposition and malice, God interjjosed and rescued me. David, valiant and bold