7 In his days sliall tlie righteous flourisli; and abundance of peace ^ so long as the moon endureth.
8 He e shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.
Rosenmiiller. The common interpretation, however, which refers the word to a mowing, that is, a mown meadow, is probably the correct one; and thus understood, the image is very beautiful. The reign of the Messiah would resemble the gentlydescending shower, under which the grass which has been mown springs up again with freshness and beauty. ^ As showers that toater the earth. Literally, " like showers, the watering of the earth." The original word rendered " that water " suggests the idea of distilling, or gently flowing.
7. In his days shall the righteous flourish. It wUl be a period when just and upright men will be protected, or when they shall receive the countenance of him who reigns. The administration of the kingdom that is to be set up will be in favour of righteousness or justice. The word flourish here is derived from the growth of plants — as plants sprout, or spring up — an emblem of prosperity. ^ And abundance of peace. Literally, *^ multitude of peace;" that is. The things whicih produce peace, or which indicate peace, will not be few, but numerous; they will abound everywhere. They will be found in towns and villages, and private dwellings; in the calm and just administration of the affairs of the State; in abundant harvests; in intelligence, in education, and in undisturbed industry; in the protection extended to the rights of all. ^ So long as the moon endureth. INlarg,, as in Heb., till there he no moon. That is, till the moon shall cease to shine upon the earth. See ver. 5.
8. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea. There is probably
an allusion here to the promise in Ex. xxiii. 31: "And I will set thy bounds from the Eed Sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river." This was the original promise in regard to the bounds of the promised land. A promise similar to this occurs also in Gen. XV. 18: " In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying. Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates." The meaning here is, that what was implied in these ancient promises would be carried out under the reign of the king referred to in the psalm. The immediate allusion, therefore, in the phrase "from sea to sea," may have been from the Red Sea on the East to the Mediterranean on the West; but still the language is susceptible of a more enlarged application, and may mean from one sea to another; that is, embracing all the lands or countries lying between seas and oceans; or, in other words, that the dominion would be universal. Comp. Notes on Ps. ii. 8. *^ And from the river, etc. The Euphrates. This was emphatically "the river ii to the Hebrews — the great river — the greatest river known to them; and this river would be naturally understood as intended by the expression, unless there was something to limit it. Besides, this was expressly designated in the original covenant as the boundary of the promised land. See, as above, Gen. XV. 18. The meaning here is, that, taking that river as one of the boundaries, or as a starting point, the dominion would extend from that to the utmost limits of the earth. It would have no other boundary but the limits of the world. The promise, therefore, is, that the dominion v/ould be universal, or would pervade the earth; — at once a kingdom of peace, and yet spreading itself all over the
9 They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him: and / his enemies shall lick the dust.
10 The c kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
11 Yea, all kings shall fall down '' before him; all nations shall serve him.
12 For he shall deliver » the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.
world. It is hardly necessary to say that this did not occur under Solomon, and that it could not have been expected that it would occur under him, and especially as it was expected that his reign would be one of peace and not of conquest. It would find its complete fulfilment only under the Messiah.
9. They that dioell in the wilderness shall hoio before him. The word rendered "they that dwell in the wilderness" — Q*'*^) tzii/yim — means properly those who abide in deserts, dry places, solitudes; and it might be applied either to animals or to men. It is applied to the former in Isa. xiii. 21 (see Notes on that place); xxiii. 13; xxxiv. 14; Jer. 1. 39. In all these, except Isa. xxiii. 13, it is rendered tcild beasts of the desert, denoting jackals, ostriches, etc.; but here, and in Ps. Ixxiv. 14, it is evidently applied to men, as denoting shepherds, — nomadic tribes, — men who have no permanent home, but who wander from place to place. The idea is, that these wild, wandering, unsettled hordes would become subject to him, or would bow down and acknowledge his authority. This can be fulfilled only under the Messiah. % And his enemies shall lick the dust. This is expressive of the most thorough submission and abject humiliati^. It is language derived from what seems actually to occur in Oriental countries, where men prostrate themselves on their faces, and place their mouths on the ground, in token of reverence or submission. Rosenmiiilcr (Morgenland, vol. ii., pp. 82, 83) quotes a passage from Hugh Boyd's Account of his em- bassage to Candy in Ceylon, where he says that when he himself came to show respect to the king, it was by kneeling before him. But this, says he, was not the case with other ambassadors. " They almost literally licked the dust. They cast themselves on their faces on the stony ground, and stretched out their arms and legs; then they raised themselves upon their knees, and uttered certain forms of good wishes in the loudest tones, — May the head of the king of kings reach above the sun; may he reign a thousand years.'* Comp. Notes on Isa. xlix. 23.
10. The kings of Tarshish. On the situation of Tarshish, see Notes on Isa. ii. 16. Comp. Ps. xlviii. 7. The word seems to be used here to denote any distant region abounding with riches. % And of the isles, etc. Representing also distant lands; or lands beyond the seas. The word islands among the Hebrews commonly denoted distant sea-coasts, particularly those of the Mediterranean. See Notes on Isa. xli. 1. ^ The kings of Sheba and Seba. Places in Arabia. On the word Sheba, see Notes on Isa. Ix. 6. On the word Seba, see Notes on Isa. xliii. 3. *^ Shall offer gfts. See Notes on Ps. xlv. 12. Comp. Isa. Ix. 5-7, 13-17.
11. Yea, all kings shall fall doion, etc. That is, his reign will be universal. The kings and people mentioned in the previous verses are only specimens of what will occur. All kings — all nations — will do w^hat these are represented as doing. They will submit to the Messiah; they will own him as their Lord. See Notes on Ps. ii. 8. Comp. Isa. xlix. 23.
13 He shall spare tlie poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy.
14 He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight.
12. For he shall deliver the needy xvhen he crieth. The suiFerer; the down-trodden; the oppressed. See Notes on ver. 4. Com p. Notes on Isa. Ixi. 1. ^ The poor also, etc. All who have no protector; all who are exposed to injustice and wrong from others. This is everjMvhere declared to be the characteristic of the reign of the Messiah. See Notes on Isa. xi. 4.
13. Se shall spare the poor and needy. He will have pity on; he will show mercy or favour to them. ^ And shall save the soids of the needy. Will guard and defend them; will be their protector and friend. His administration will have special.respect to those who are commonly overlooked, and who are exposed to oppression and wrong.
14. He shall redeem their soiil from deceit and violence. He will rescue their lives; that is, he will deliver them from the hands of men who practise deceit, or who are dishonest and unjust,— and from the hands of those who oppress. This is stating in another form the idea that his reign would be one of equity, protecting the rights of the poor, and delivering the oppressed. ^ And precious shall their blood he in his sight. That is, so precious that he will not permit it to be shed unjustly, but will come to their rescue when their life is in danger; or, that — being shed— he will regard it as so valuable that he will not permit it to go unavenged. He will never be indifferent to their safety, or their reputation.
15. And he shall live. So far as the language here is concerned, this may either refer to the king — the Messiah, — or to the poor and the op-
15 And he shall live, * and to him ^ shall be given of the gold of Sheba: ' prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised."*
pressed man. If the former, then it means that the life of the Messiah would be perpetual; that he would not be cut oft' as other sovereigns are; that there would be no change of dynasty; that he would be, as a king, the same — unchanging and unchanged— in all the generations of men, and in all the revolutions which occur on the eai'th. This would accord with the truth, and with what is elsewhere said of the Messiah; but, perhaps, the more correct interpretation is the latter, — that it refers to the poor and the oppressed man, — meaning that he would live to bring an offering to the Messiah, and to pray for the extension of his kingdom upon the earth. ^ And to him shall he given. Marg., one shall give. Literally, he shall give to him; that is, the man who has enjoyed his protection, and who has been saved by him, will do this. As a token of his gratitude, and as an expression of his submission, ho will bring to him a costly off"ering, the gold of Sheba. ^ Of the gold of Sheha. One of the gifts referred to in ver. 10, as coming from Sheba. Comp. Isa.xliii. 3; xlv. 14. The meaning is, that those who are redeemed by him, — who owe so much to him for protecting and saving them — will bring the most valued things of the earth, or will consecrate to him all that they are, and all that they possess. Comp. Isa. Ix. 5-7, 13-17. ^ Prayer also shall he ntade for Mm continually. Not for him personally, but for the success of his reign; for the extension of his kingdom. Prayer made for that is made for him, for he is identified with that. ^ And daily shall he he praised. Every day; constantly. It will not be only at stated and distant intervals — at set seasons, and on
16 There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the
top of the mountains; the frait thereof shall shake like Lebanon:
special occasions, — but those who love him will do it every clay. It is not necessary to say that this accords with the truth in reference to those who are the friends and followers of the Messiah — the Lord Jesus. Their lives are lives of praise and gratitude. From their dwellings daily praise ascends to him; from their hearts praise is constant; — praise uttered in the closet and in the family; praise breathed forth from the heart, whether on the farm, in the workshop, on a journey, or in the busy marts of commerce. The time will come when this shall be universal; when he who can take in at a glance the condition of the world, will see it to be a world of praise; when he who looks on all hearts at the same moment will see a world full of thankfulness.
16. There shall he an handful of,corn. Of grain, — for so the word means in the Scriptures. The general idea in this verse is plain. It is, that, in the time of the Messiah, there would be an ample supply of the fruits of the earth; or that his reign would tend to the promotion of prosperity, industry, abundance. It would be as if fields of grain waved everywhere, even on the tops of mountains, or as if the hills were cultivated to the very summit, so that the whole land would be covered over with waving, smiling harvests. There is a difference of opinion, however, and consequently of interpretation, as to the meaning of the word rendered handful. This word — TTDD, pissah — occurs nowhere else, and it is impossible, therefore, to determine its exact meaning. By some it is rendered handful; by others, ahundance. The former interpretation is adopted by Prof. Alexander, and is found in the older interpreters generally; the latter is the opinion of Gesenius, De Wette, and most modern expositors. It is also the interpretation in the Syriac. The Vulgate and the LXX. render it strength — meaning something^rm or secure, — ■firmamentum, arijpiyjxa. According to the explanation which regards the word as meaning handful, the idea is, that there would be a great contrast between the small beginnings of the Messiah's reign and its ultimate triumph — as if a mere handful of grain were sown on the top of a mountain, — on a place little likely to produce anything — a place usually barren and unproductive, — which would grow into an abundant harvest, so that it would wave everywhere like the cedar trees of Lebanon. According to the other interpretation, the idea is simply that there would be an abundance in the land. The whole land would be cultivated, even to the tops of the hills, and the evidences of plenty would be seen everywhere. It is impossible to determine which of these is the correct idea; but both agree in that which is essential — that the reign of the Messiah would be one of peace and plenty. The former interpretation is the most poetic, and the most beautiful. It accords, also, with other representations — as in the parable of the grain of mustard-seed, and the parable of the leaven; and it accords, also, with the fact that the beginning of the Gospel was small in comparison with what would be the ultimate result. This would seem to render that interpretation the most probable. % In the earth. In the land; the land of Canaan; the place where the kingdom of the Messiah would be set up. ^ Upon the top of the mountains. In places like the tops of mountains. The mountains and hills were seldom cultivated to the tops. Yet here the idea is, that the state of things under the Messiah would be as if a handful of grain were sown in the place most unlikely to produce a harvest, or which no one thought of cultivating. No one needs to be told how well this would represent the cold and barren human heart in M2
and " they of tlie city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
17 His name shall ^ endure for ever; his name shall be 2 continued as long as the sun; and men shall be blessed ° in him:
* as a son to continue his father's name for all nations shall call him blessed.
18 Blessed he the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only P doeth wondrous things.
19 And blessed '^he his glorious name for ever: and let the whole
general; or the state of the Jewish world in respect to true religion, at the time when the Saviour appeared. ^ The fruit thereof. That which would spring up from the mere handful of grain thus sown. •[[ Shall shake like Lebanon. Like the cedartrees of Lebanon. The harvest will wave as those tall and stately trees do. This is an image designed to show that the gi-owth would be strong and abundant, far beyond what could have been anticipated from the small quantity of the seed sown, and the barrenness of the soil. The word rendered shake means more than is implied in our word shake or wave. It conveys also the idea of a rushing sound, such as that which whistles among cedar or pine trees. "The origin of the Hebrew verb," says Gesenius, " and its primary idea lies in the noise and crashing which is made by concussion." Hence it is used to denote the rustling motion of grain waving in the wind, and the sound of the wind whistling through trees when they are agitated by it. ^ And they of the city. Most interpreters suppose that this refers to Jerusalem, as the centre of the Messiah's kingdom. It seems more probaljle, however, that it is not designed to refer to Jerusalem, or to any particular city, but to stand in contrast with the top of the mountain. Cities and hills would alike flourish; there would be prosperity everywhere— in barren and unpopulated wastes, and in places where men had been cona:regated together. The figure is clianged, as is not uncommon, but the idea is retained. The indications of prosperity would be apparent everywhere. If Shall flourish like grass of the earth. As grass springs out of the ground, producing the idea of beauty and plenty. See Notes on Isa. xliv. 3, 4.
17. His name shall endure for ever. Marg., as in Heb., Shall he for ever; that is, He shall endure for ever. ^ Sis name shall he continued as long as the sun. As long as that continues to shine — an expression designed to express perpetuity. See Notes on ver. 5. The margin here is, shall he as a son to continue his fathers name for ever. The Hebrew word — 1^3, nun — means to sprout^ to fut forth; and hence, to flourish. The idea is that of a tree which con- • tinues always to sprout, or put forth leaves, branches, blossoms; — or, which never dies. ^ And men shall he hlessed in Mm. See Gen. xii. 3; xxii. 18. He will be a source of blessing to them, in the pardon of sin; in happiness; in peace; in salvation. ^ All nations shall call him hlessed. Shall praise him; shall speak of him as the source of their highest comforts, joys, and hopes. See Luke xix. 38; Matt. xxi. 9; xxiii. 39. The time will come when all the nations of the earth will honour and praise him.
18. Blessed be the LoED God, ihe God of Israel. The God who rules over Israel; the God who is worshipped by the Hebrew people, and who is recognised as their God. They adore him as the true God; and he is their God, their Protector, their Friend. ^ Who only doeth loondrous things. Things that can properly be regarded as wonders; things fitted to excite admiration by their vastness and power. Comp. Ex. xv. 11.
earth be filled *" with his glory. Amen, and amen.
he is known, — referring: perhaps particularly to his name Jehovah. Still the prayer would be, that all the names by which he is known, all by which he has revealed himself, might be regarded with veneration always and everywhere. ^ And let the tvhole aarth he filled with his glory. With the knowledge of himself; with the manifestations of his presence; with the influences of his religion. Comp. Num. xiv. 21. This prayer was peculiarly appropriate at the close of a psalm designed to celebrate the glorious reign of the Messiah, Under that reign the earth will be, in fact, filled with the glory of God; the v/orld will be a world of glory. Assuredly all who love God, and who love mankind, all who desire that God may be honoured, and that the world may be blessed and happy, will unite in this fervent prayer, and reecho the hearty " Amen and amen " of the psalmist. ^ Amen, and amen. So be it. Let this occur. Let this time come. The expression is doubled to denote intensity of feeling. It is the going out of a heart full of desire that this might be so.
20. The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended. This is not found in the Syriac. The following is added in that version at the close of the psalm: — " The end of the Second Book." In regard to this twentieth verse, it is quite clear that it is no part of the psalm; and it is every way probable that it was not placed here by the author of the psalm, and also that it has no special and exclusive reference to this psalm, for the psalm could in no special sense be called '• a prayer of David." The words bear all the marks of having been placed at the close of a collection of psalms, or a division of the Book of Psalms, to which might be given as an appropriate designation, the title "The Prayers of David, the son of Jesse;" meaning that that book, or
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
that division of the book, was made up of the compositions of David, and might be thus distinguished from other portions of the general collection. This would not imply that in this part of the collection there were literally no other psalms than those which had been composed by David, or that none of the psahiis of David might be found in other parts of the general collection, but that this division was more entirely made up of his psalms, and that the name might therefore be given to this as his collection. It may be fairly inferred from this, that there tvas such a collection, or that there loere, in the Book of Psalms, divisions which were early recognised. See the General Introduction. Bishop Horsley supposes, however, that this declaration, "The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended," pertains to this psalm alone, as if David had nothing more to pray for or to wish than what was expressed in these glowing representations of the kingdom of the Messiah, and of the hapj)y times which would be enjoyed under his rule.
This psalm (with the ten succeeding psalms, together with Psalm 1., — twelve in all) is ascribed to Asaph, unless the reading in the margin, '■'■fur Asaph" bo correct. The most natural sense of the expression in the title, however, is that thej- are psalms of Asaph; that is, that they were composed by him. See Introd. to Ps. ]. It has been maintained that a part of these psalms, particularly Ps. Ixxiv., Ixxix., and Ixxx., could not be his, for it is alleged that they refer to events long subsequent to his age. There seems to be no objection, however, to the supposition that this psalm w^as composed by him, as it has no particular ref(?rencc to any particular age or country, but is made up of general reflections, which might have arisen in any age, or in any land.
Respecting the particular occasion on which the psalm was composed we have no inforaiation. It Avas in view of the prosperity of the wieked, and suggests the reflections Avhich troubled the Avriter in regard to the Divine administration in view of that prosperity. The thoughts which are recorded are such as might occur to any mind, and do often occur, arising from the fact that wicked men are so successful and so happy in the world, living in prosperity, and dying apparently without pain or alarm, Avhile so many of the good are poor and sorrowful'in their lives, and their Avhole course on earth is one of so much grief and sorrow. Such thoughts as are expressed in this psalm will often cross the mind, and the question ivill arise Avh)' God permits this; whether there is any advantage in being good; and whether that God who sees this, and permits this, can be just and benevolent, — the friend of the righteous, and the enemj- of the wicked, — or whether there is any God. The psalm describes these feelings, and shows how the difficulties were solved in the case of its author, suggestmg as the solution, that this is not the Avorld of retribution; that there is a future state where exact justice will be done, and where all the inequalities of the present system will be adjusted. In that future world — in eternihf — there will be ample time and room to make such an adjustment; to do exact justice to all. The idea in the psalm is, that these things cannot be explained except on the supposition that there is a future state; and the psalm, therefore, is an argument /or a future state of existence. The aftaii's of earth cannot be explained, and the character of God cannot be vindicated, except on that supposition.
The psalm in its general structure and design bears a strong resemblance to Ps. xxxvii., though there is no evidence that the author of this psalm had that before him, or in his eye. The expressions are not the same, nor does one appear to have been copied from the other. They contain independent reflections on the same general subject, suggesting the same perplexities, and finding a solution of the difficulties in the same way, — in looking to the future, to a just retribution in the end. In this case — Ps. Ixxiii. — the psalmist says that he learned the solution of the problem by the instructions of the sanctuary (ver. 17); in the former case — Ps. xxxvii., — the solution was found by an observation of the comparative effects of a wicked and a religious life, Ps. xxxvii.
10, 11, 20, 23-20, 3o-37. The idea in both is, that the iiltimate effect of goodness or piety must be happiness; the ultimate effect of sin must be miserj-. The author of one of these psalms tinds this solution in the present life; the author of the other, in the life to come. In either case, the character of God is vindicated, and the troubled feelings of the soul calmed down.
The general idea in the psalm is stated in the tirst verse, that " God is good to Israel, to such as are of a clean heart; " that is, that he is the true friend of the righteous, or that his administration is in favour of -sdrtue, or in favour of those who are righteous. The psalm states the process by which the writer came to this conclusion; the mental conflicts through which he passed before this result was reached; his own agitation of mind, and the difficulties he saw in the subject, in view of the facts which exist in this world. His mind had been greatly perplexed when he had meditated on the subject, and the mental conflict had gone so far with him as almost to lead him to abandon the idea that there was a God, or that there was anything in religion, and to conclude that it was all a delusion.
I. The statement of the general proposition that the Divine administration is favoin-able to virtue, or that there is a God who presides in the aftairs of men,
II. The facts which the psalmist had observed, out of which his doubts had spnmg, or Avhich had given him so much perplexity and trouble, vers. 2-14. Those facts were, that the wicked seemed to be prosperous and happy; that they lived Avithout trouble, and died without any tokens of the Divine disapproval; that their eyes stood out with fatness, and that they had more than heart could desire; that they set their mouths against the heavens, and were proud blasphemers, Avhile God took no notice of them, or manifested no disapprobation; that they contemned God, and yet were prospered in the world, while, on the other hand, he himself — the psalmist — Avas chastened, and afflicted, and plagued, — suggesting the idea that there could be no advantage in piety, and that all his anxiety to haA-e pure hands and a pure heart Avas in A^ain.
III. The statement of his purpose to conceal his feelings on the subject, lest
mHULY 2 God is good to Israel, ■*• even to such as are 3 of a clean
he should do injury to those who had }iot these troublesome thoughts, but who endeavoured in humility to serve God, ver. 15. Hehad thoughts which lie did not consider it proper to make known to others, — thoughts which Avould only pain them, or unsettle their faith in God, without doing any good.
IV. The means by which his mind had been made calm on the subject, and his difficulties solved, vers. 17-20. He had gone to the sanctuary; he had looked at the end of these things; he had seen what Avas to be the result; he had been instructed to look forward to a time when all these inequalities Vould be adjusted, and when, in the punishment of the Avicked, it Avould be seen that there is a God, and that he is just.
V. He now condemns his ov^ti foi-mer foll)^ and sees that his conduct had been Avholly irrational; that his views had been short-sighted; that he had been stupid, like a beast, in the low conceptions Avhich he had taken of God, vers.
VI. In view of all, the psalmist now commits himself to God. He sees that there is reason to trust in him. He I'esolves to murmur or complain no more. He finds his portion in God. He believes that God will guide him by his counsel, and ultimately receive him to glory. He says that there is none in heaven or on earth that he desires beside him. He is cheered with the thought that when his strength and heai't should fail, God Avould be the strength of his heart, and his portion for ever. He Avould, therefore, henceforth, confide in the Lord God, vers.
1. Trull/ God is ffood to Israel. That is, to his people; to the righteous; to those who serve him. That is, God is the real friend of the righteous. He has not forgotten them. He does not abandon them. He is not indifferent to them. He is 7iot the friend of wicked men; and the administration of his government is
2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone: my steps had well nigh slipped.
not ip favour of wickedness. After all that seems to indicate this, after all that troubles the mind in regard to his dealings, it is a truth that God is the friend of righteousness, and not of wickedness, and that there is advantage in his service. To see the force of what is said here by the psalmist we must realize that the train of thought in the psalm had passed through his mind, and that his perplexities had been relieved in the manner specified in the psalm. The margin here is "t/et;" — 7/et God is good to Israel. This word yet would, in this place, be a happy translation. The psalmist then would be represented as having been engaged in meditating on the subject and in looking at all its perplexities, and then he says, " Yet God is good; notwithstanding all the difficulties in the case, it is nevertheless true that he is the friend of his people — the friend of righteousness." ^ Even to such as are of a clean heart. Marg., as in Heb,, clean of heart. See ver. 13. The reference is to those who are truly righteous, for all true righteousness has its seat in the heart. See Ps. h. 10.
2. But as for me. Literally, And I. The meaning is, " And I, who so confidently now trust in God, and believe that he is good, w^as formerly in a far different state of mind; I was so hesitating, so troubled, and so doubtful, that I had almost entirely lost confidence in him as a wise and just moral governor.'' *11 My feet loere almost gone. I was just ready to fall. Of course, this refers to his state of mind. In regard to his faith or confidence in God, he was like a man standing in a slippery place, and scarcely able to remain upright. % My steps had well nigh slipped. The expression rendered ivell nigh means
3 For I was envious « at tlie foolish, ivhen I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For there are no bands in their death; but their strength is
liJce nothing i or as nothing; that is, in reference to firmness it was as if there was nothing left. There was nothing which would keep him from slipping. The word rendered slipped means poured out. That is, in his going he was like water poured out, instead of being like something solid and firm. The idea is, that his faith seemed to be all gone. He was like a falling man; a man who had no strength to walk.
3. For I was envious at the foolish. The wordfooUsh here refers to sinners. It may either refer to them as foolish, or as proud, insolent, vain, — for so the word is elsewhere used. See Ps. xiv. 1. Tf Wheu I saw the prosperity of the tvicked. More literally, "the peace of the wicked." The reference is not so much to their prosperity in general as to their peace; their conscious safety; their freedom from trouble; and especially their calmness, and their freedom from suffering, in death. From all this he was led for the moment to doubt whether there was any advantage in religion; whether God was just; and whether he befriended the righteous any more than he did the wicked.
4. For there are no hands in their death. The word rendered haiids\\Qve means properly cords tightly drawn, Isa. Iviii. 6; then, pains, pangs, torments— as if one were twisted or tortured with pain, as a cord is closely twisted. The word occurs only in Isa. Iviii. 6, and in this place. The fact which is here referred to by the psahnist, and which gave him so much uneasiness, was that which so often occurs, that when the wicked die, they do not seem to suffer in proportion to their wickedness; or there seem to be no especial marks of the Divine dis-
5 They are not in 2 trouble as other men; neither are they plagued 3 like other men.
6 Therefore pride comi^asseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment.'
pleasure as they are about to leave the world. They have lived in prosperity, and they die in peace. There is no uncommon agony in death; there is no special alarm about the future world. They have enjoyed this world, and a sinful life seems now to be followed by a peaceful death. They do not even suffer as much in death as good men often do; — what then is the advantage of piety? And how can we believe that God is just; or that he is the friend of the righteous; or even that there is a God? Of the fact here adverted to by the psalmist, that the wicked do thus live and die, there can be no doubt, and that fact has given perplexity to good men in all ages of the world. % But their strength is firm. Marg., as in Heb., fat. That is, They are not emaciated and weakened by disease, but they go down to death apparently* from good health, and without wasting disease. See Notes on Job xxi. 23-26.
5. They are not in trouble as other men. Marg., In the trouble of other men. Literally, " In the labour of man they are not;" that is, they are exempt from the common burdens and troubles of humanity, or those which pertain to man as man. There seems to be some special interposition in their favour to save them from the common calamities which come upon the race. ^ Neither are theu plagued UJce other men. Marg., loith. ' Literally, " And with mankind they are not afflicted," or smitten. The calamities which come so thickly and heavily on the race do not seem to come upon them. Thej- are favoured, prospered, happy, while others are afflicted.
6. Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain. Therefore they are
7 Their eyes stand out with fatness: they ^ have more than heart could wish.
8 They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression:
J pass the thoughts of the heart.
proud, haughty, imperious. They put on the ornaments and trappings of pride; their clothing and their adorning all are indicative of a proud heart. They seem to imagine that they are better than others, and that they are treated in this manner because they are better than others. In the original it is a single word which is rendered *' compasseth about as a chain." The word means to adorn with a necklace or collar; and the idea is, that pride surrounds them as with a neck-chain, or a collar for the neck. They wear it as an ornament. They make it conspicuous. It is apparent on a haughty neck, — in an erect and stiff demeanour. Comp. Notes on Isa. iii. 16: " The daughters of Zion walk with stretchefl forth necks." ^ Violence covereth them as a garment. Injustice or cruelty seems to be their very clothing. It is manifest in their whole gait and demeanour that they are men of haughtiness and pride; that they are destitute of tenderness, sympathy, sensibility.
7. Their eyes stand out with fatness. As the fruit of their high living. They are not weakened and emaciated by toil and want, as other men often are. Comp. Notes on Ps. xvii. 10. ^ They have more than heart could toish. Marg., they pass the thoughts of the heart. Literally, *' the imaginations [or thoughts] of the heart pass;" pass along; pass forth. The meaning seems to be, not that they have more than heart could desire, as in our translation, — for that would not probably be true: nor, that the thoughts of the heart are disclosed, as Prof. Alexander supposes, — for that idea does not seem to be in the language; but that their thoughts^ their plans, their purposes,
9 They set their«mouth against the heavens; and their tongue walketh through the earth.
10 Therefore his people return
pass freely along without any obstruction; their wishes are all gratified; their purposes are accomplished j they have all that they wish. Whatever comes into the mind as an object of desire is obtained without hindrance or trouble. They seem only to wish for a thing, or to think of a thing, and they have it.
8. They are corrupt. Literally, they mock. The word rendered *' they are corrupt " never has this signification. It is the very word — plTO, muk — from which our word mock is derived, and means the same thing. The idea is that they deride religion, or mock at all that pertains to God, and to the retributions of the future world. *1[ A7id speak loickedly concerning oppression, etc. Literally, "they speak in wickedness; oppression they speak from on high." That is, they use arrogant language; they speak in a proud manner, as if they were above others; they use harsh and violent language, not regarding the feelings or the rights of others.
9. They set their mouth against the heavens. Comp. Kev. xiii. 6. Literally, " They set their mouth in heaven," or in the heavens. The idea is, they speak as if they were in the heavens; as if they were clothed with all authority; as if they were superior beings, and had a right to command the universe. ^ And their tongue tvalketh through the earth. It has no limit; it is as if it roamed over all the earth. They speak without atiy restraint of law, or propriety; without any regard to the command of God, or to what is duo to men. In other words, they seem to set themselves above al^aw, and to act as if there were no one in heaven or in earth to control thein.
hitlier: and waters of a full cup are wi'ung out to them.
11 And they say, How ^' doth
that truly love God; the pious in the earth. ^ Return liitJier. Keturu to this subject. In their musings — their meditations on Divine things — they come back to this inquiry. The subject occupies their minds, and they recur to it as a subject which perplexes them; as a thing that is incomprehensible. They think it over again and again, and are more and more perplexed and embarrassed. The difficulties which these facts suggest about God and his government are such that they cannot solve them. ^ And icaters of a full cup are ivrung out to them. Literally, ivaters of fulness; or, full waters. The Chaldee renders this, Many tears floio from them. The LXX., and the Latin Vulgate, "And full days shall be found by them." The word rendered are icrung out — from H^TD, matzah— > means properly to suck; then, to suck out; to drink greedily. See Isa. li. 17. It is applied to one who drinks greedily of an intoxicating cup; and then, to one who drinks a cup of poison to the dregs. Ps. Ixxv. 8. The meaning here is, that the facts in the case, and the questions which arose in regard to those facts, and which so perplexed them, were like a bitter cup; a cup of poison, or an intoxicating cup which overpowered their faculties, — and that they, in their perplexities, exhausted the cup. Tbey drank it all, even to the dregs. They did not merely taste if; but they drank it. It was a subject full of perplexity; a subject that wholly overpowered all their faculties, and exhausted all their powers.
11. And they say. His people say. The connexion demands this interpretation. The meaning is, that his peojiJe, as they return again and again to this subject (ver. 10), are constrained to put this question. They are compelled by these facts to
God know? and is there knowledge in the Most High.?
12 Behold, these are the un-
start such painful inquiries about Godj and distressing as the inquiries are, and as are the doubts which they involve, these thoughts will pass through their mind, even though to avoid giving needless pain to those who have no such perplexities and difficulties they keep these thoughts to themselves, ver. 15. IT ILow doth God knoiv? That is. How can these facts be reconciled with God's omniscience? How can it be that he sees all this, and yet suffers it to occur, or that he does not interpose to prevent it? Is it not a f\ir inference from these facts that God does not see them, and that he is not an Omniscient Being? Can it be explained, can it be believed, that God sees all this, and that he calmly looks on, and does nothing to prevent it? If he sees it, why does he nolf interpose and put an end to it? These perplexities were not confined to the psalmist. They are such as have been felt by good men in all ages; and no one yet has been able to furnish a solution of them that is wholly free from difficulty. ^ And is there knowledge in the Most High? Can there be in God a knowledge of these facts? Are Ave not driven to the conclusion that he must be ignorant of them? for, if he knew them, would he not interpose to prevent them? How can it be consistent with the idea that he knows them, and sees them, that he does not interpose, and that he suffers these things to take place without any attempt to check such evils? Who, even now, can answer these questions? 12. Behold, these are the ungodly, tcho prosper in the ivorld. This is also to be understood as the language of the good man perplexed and embarrassed by the fact that the wicked are prosperous and happy. The meaning is, " Lo, these are wicked men — men of undoubted depravity;
godly, who prosper in the world; they increase m riches.
13 Yerily '" I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency.
14 For all the day long have I been plagued, and i chastened every morning.
they are men who live regardless of God; and yet they are peaceful, tranquil, happ}', prospered." This was one of the facts which so much embarrassed the psalmist. If there had been any doubt about the character of those men, the case would have been different. But there was none. They were men whose character for wickedness was well known, and yet they were permitted to live in peace and prosperity, as if they were the favourites of heaven. The literal meaning of the words rendered " who prosper in the world" is, "tranquil [or secure] for the age;" that is, for ever, or constantly. They know no changes; they see no reverses; they are the same through life. They are always tranquil, calm, happy, successful. *![ They increase in Quiches. Literally, " They become great in substance." They make constant accumulations in wealth, until they become great.
13. Verily I have cleansed my "heart in vain. That is. There is no advantage in all my efforts to become pure and holy. It does not assist me in obtaining the favour of God; and it would be just as well to live a sinful life, — to indulge in the pleasures of sense, — to make the world my portion. Nothing is to be gained by all my painful efforts at self-discipline; by all my endeavours to become righteous. It would have been as well for me — or better — if I had lived a life of sin like other men. The righteous obtain from God fewer blessings than the wicked; they have less happiness and less prosperity in this world; they are subjected to more trouble and sorrow; — and to all else there must be added the struggles, the conflict, the warfare, the painful effort to he pure, and to lead a holy life, all of which is now seen to be of no advantage whatever. Such thoughts as these were not confined to the psalmist. They are thoughts which toill start up in the mind, and which it is not easy to calm down. •[[ And tvashed my hands in innocency. That is. It has been of no use that I have washed my hands in innocency. The word iwwocewc^ here means j9?<r?7y. He "* had washed his hands in that which was pure; as, pure water. To wash the hands is emblematic of innocence or purity. See Notes on Ps. xxvi. 6.
14. For all the day long. Continually. All my life. *^ Have I been plagued. Smitten; afilicted; troubled. My life has been a life of trial. I have not known prosperity. *^And chastened every morning. Marg., as in Heb., My chastisement ivas. That is, my sufferings — my trials — have been repeated with every returning morning. Each new day has brought some new form of affliction, designed to rebuke and punish me. I never have found exemption from trial even for a single day. So different is my lot from the lot of wicked men, who know nothing of this, and who are always prospered and happy. See Notes on Job vii. 18.
15. If I say, I tvill spealc thus. If I should resolve to give expression to my feelings. If I should utter all that is passing in my mind and my heart. It is implied here that he had not given utterance to these thoughts, but had confined them to his own bosom. He knew how they might be regarded by others; how others might be led to feel as if no confidence was to be placed in God; how this might suggest thoughts to them which would not otherwise occur to them, and which would only tend to fill their minds with distress; how such thoughts might unsettle the foundations of their faith, their peace, their hope.
■behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children. 16 When I thought to know
this, it was ^ too painful for me; 17 Until I went into the sanc- and their joy. ^ I should off'end against the f/eneratlon of ihy children. The word rendered " I should ofleud," means to treat perfidiously, or in a faithless or treacherous manner. Then it means, to deal falsely tciih. And this is the meaning here; — " I should not be true to tliein; 1 should not be faithful to their real interests; I.^ should do that which would be equivalent to dealing with them in a false and perfidious manner." The idea is, that he ouyht not to say or do anything which would tend to lessen their confidence in God, or which would suggest to their minds grounds of distrust in God, or which would disturb their peace and hope. This was alike an act of justice and benevolence on his part. Whatever might be his own troubles and doubts, he had no riyht to fill their minds with doubts and distrust of God; and he felt that, as it was desirable that the minds of others should not be harassed as his owni had been, it coidd not be kind to suggest such thoughts. This, however, should not forbid any one from mentioning such difficulties to another for the purpose of having them removed. If they occur to the mind, as they may to the minds of any, however sincere and pious they may be, nothing can make it improper that they should be laid before one of greater age, or longer experience, or wider opportunities of knowledge, in order that the difficulties may be solved. Nothing can make it improper for a child to have recourse thus to a parent, — or a member of a church, to a pastor. If, however, these doubts can be calmed down otherwise, it is better that they should be mentioned to no one. Some little additional strength may be given them even by dwelling on them long enough to mention them to another, and by putting them in such a form that they would be understood by another; and the true way is to go to God with them by prayer, and to spread them out before the mercy seat. Prayer, and a careful study of the word of God may calm them down without their being suggested to any human being. At any rate, they should not be suggested at all to the young, or to those with fewer advantages of education, or of less experience than we have had, on whom the only eflect would be to fill their minds with doubts which they could not solve, — and with thoughts tending only to perplexity and unbelief,^ such as would never have occurred to themselves.
16. When I thought to Tcnow this. When I endeavoured to comprehend this, or to explain it to myself. The idea is that he thought on the subject, or meditated on it with a view to be able to understand it. He did not express his opinions and feelings to others, but he dwelt on them in his own mind; — not to find additional difficulties, not to confirm himself in opposition to God, and not to find new occasions for distrusting the Divine government, but to understand exactly how this loas. It was his object to seek and understand the truth. •[[ It was too painful for me. Marg., It loas labour in mine eyes. The Hebrew word rendered painful, means properly labour, toil, a burden; and the idea is, that the question was a burden— was too weighty for his w^eak powers.
17. Until I loent into the sanctuary of God. The word sanctuary we now apply to a place of public worship; and, thus understood, the passage here would mean that he learned the truth on the subject only by the statements and disclosures made there in regard to the Divine plans and dealings, and the results of human conduct. This interpretation makes good sense, and is in itself true, but it is not the idea tuary of God; then understood I their end.'^
18 Surely tliou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them, down into destruction.
in the original. The word sanctuary in the Old Testament, in the singular number, is applied to the tabernacle, or the temple, or, more especially to the most holy place in the tabernacle or the temple; the place of the peculiar dwelling of God. Thus understood, the idea would be that he learned the solution of the mystery there. But these were not places of instruction, and it cannot be supposed that the reference is to either of them. The word in the original is in the plural number — sanctuaries, — things that God regarded as holy; and the meaning seems to be, that the only solution of the case was to be learned from those things which pertained to God's most holy and secret places; or in those places which were nearest to him, and where he most clearly manifested himself. The difficulty was not to be solved by any mere human reasoning — by the powers of man, away from God; it was to be learned in the presence of God himself, and in the disclosures which He made about bis Divine plans and purposes. The psalmist had tried his own powers of reason, and the subject was above his reach. The only solution of the difficulty was to be obtained by a near approach to God himself. There the mystery could be solved, and there it toas solved. The " end " of all this, as disclosed by God, would determine ^ohy it was permitted, and would remove the perplexity of the mind. ^ Then understood j their end. Literally, their after things; that is, the things which will occur to them hereafter. That solves all the difficulty. There will be a judgment hei*eafter, and dark as things may now appear, it will be seen in the end, or in the result, that exact and equal justice will be done to all. •
18. Surely thou didst set them in
19 How are they hrouglit into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumtd with terrors.
slippery places. Not in a solid and permanent position; not where their foothold would be secure, but as on smooth and slippery rocks, where they would be liable any moment to fall into the foaming billows. However prosperous their condition may seem to be now^, yet it is a condition of uncertainty and danger, from which they must soon fall into ruin. In their prosperity there is nothing of permanence or stability; and this fact will explain the difficulty. ^ Thou castedst them doion into destruction. They are placed, not in a permanent condition, but in a condition from which they will be cast down to destruction. Ruin is before them; and the end will demonstrate the justice of God. Nothing can be determined from their present condition as to the question which caused so much perplexity, but in order to a proper solution we anust wait to see the end. As an illustration of this, see the interesting account of the interview between Solon of Athens, and Croecus, the rich king of Lydia, as given in Herodotus, book i., 30-33.
19. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! How suddenly and unexpectedly does destruction come upon them! Nothing can be argued from their apparent prosperity, for there is no ground of security in that, — no basis for an argument that it will continue. The end must be seen in order to form a correct estimate on the subject, and that end may soon come. Comp. Notes on Job xv. 20, 21. ^ They are utterly consumed tvith terrors. Literally, " they perish; they are destroyed by terrors;" that is, by terrible things, or by things fitted to produce terror in the mind. The idea is not that they are destroyed by their own fears, but that things come
20 As a dream y wlieii one awaketli; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.
upon them which are fitted to overwhelm the soul, and that by those things they are utterly destroyed. Ifc is by this result that we are to determine in regard to the equity of the Divine administration, and not by their prosperity and their apparent safety.
20. As a dream tvhen one awaJceth. Their prosperity is like the visions of a dream; the reality is seen when one awakes. A man in a dream may imagine that he is a king; that he dwells in a palace; that he is surrounded by flatterers and courtiers; that he walks in pleasant groves, listens to the sounds of sweet music, sits down at a table loaded with the luxuries of all climes, and lies upon a bed of down. He may awake only to find that he is encompassed with poverty, or that he is on a bed of languishing, or that he is the miserable tenant of a hovel or a dungeon. The reality is when he awakes. "So it is in regard to our present condition on earth. The reality is seen when the dream — the gorgeous dream — of life is over. ^ So, O Lord, token thou aivakest. The Hebrew expression here — 1^i?3 id-ir — 'Occurs in more than fifty other places in the Scriptures, and is in all these places translated in the city. This interpretation, however, would be quite mimeaning here, and the probability is that the expression is a form of the verb "n^, iir, to awake, to arouse; and the idea is not, as in our version, that of God's awaking as if he had been asleep, but it refers to the dreamer when he shall awake. It is, literally, i)i the awakinrf; that is, when the dream is over. % Thou shalt despise their image. The image that floated before their imaginations in the dream of life. Thou wilt pay no attention to it; there is no reality in it; it will at once vanish. In the
21 Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins.
22 So foolish loas I, and ^ ignorant; I was as a beast 2 before
future world, God will pay no regard to the dreams of human life, to the outward show, to the appearance; but the aflairs of eternity will be regulated by what is real — by that which constitutes the character of the man. By that, and not by the vain dreams of the world, will the destiny of men be determined. We are to look at that in determining the question about the government of God, and not at what appears in the brief dream of life.
21. Thus my heart was grieved. Literally, and more expressively, ivas soured. The meaning is, that his heart was grieved, pained, dissatisfied. His mind was embittered, and he was rendered unhappy, by the views which he cherished about God, as doubting the wisdom and justice of his dealings with men — and about men, as being envious at their prosperity. % And I toas pricked in my reins. The reins are often in the Scriptures represented as the seat of the thoughts or affections. See Xotes on Ps. vii. 9. The word rendered />r/c^e(? means to sharpen, as a sword; and then, to pierce and penetrate as a sword does. The idea is, that these thoughts, so distressing and painful, seemed to be like a sharp sword penetrating to the seat of life.
22. So foolish was /, and ignorant. Such low and imperfect views did I take of the subject. The margin is, I kneio not. So the Hebrew: "And I am brutish, and know not;" that is, I did not understand the case; I had no correct views in regard to it. ^ I teas as a beast before thee. Marg., as in Heb., loith thee. That is, in thy very presence; or, I was guilty of such foolishness in the very presence of my Maker. If it had been when I was alone, or when no one saw me, the folly would not have been soaggra-
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with thee; thou hast holden me by my right hand.
24 Thou s shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.
vated, and so much to be regretted, but it was when the very eye of God was upon me. Comp. Isa. i. 7; Jer. vii. 30; xviii. 10; Ps. li. 4. When he says that he was as a beast, he means that he was stupid and senseless; he had no proper understanding of the oase; he did not take any just views of it.
23. Nevertheless, I am continuallt/ with thee. I am kept by thee in the land of the living; 1 am permitted to abide in thy presence; I am allowed to hope in thy mercy. Notwithstanding my low and unworthy views, notwithstanding my doubts about the justice of the Divine administration, notwithstanding my envy at the prosperity of the wicked, and my spirit of complaining against God, 1 am not driven away from God; I am not banished from his presence, or cut off from his favour. Well may we marvel when we reflect on our thoughts about God, that He has not risen in his anger, and banished us from his presence for ever and ever. "I" Thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou hast not left me. Thou hast stretched out thy hand to keep me. Thou hast been to me as a Protector and Friend. Thou hast not been angry at my unkind and ungrateful thoughts; thou hast not banished me eternally from thy presence.
24. Thou shalt guide me toith thy counsel. With thy advice; with thy teaching. This implies two things: (a) his belief that God ivould do this, notwithstanding his folly; and (fi) his purpose that God should be his guide now. He would no longer murmur or complain, but would entrust all to God, and allow himself to be led as God should be pleased to direct him. ^ And afterward receive me to glory. After thou hast
25 Whom have I in heaven hut thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.
26 My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the ^ strength of
led me along the path of the present life in the way in which thou wouldst have me to go, thou wilt then receive me to thyself in heaven — to a world where all shall be clear; where I shall never have an}' doubts in regard to thy being, to the justice of thy dispensations, or to the principles of thy government.
25. Whom have I in, heaven but thee? Literally, " Who is to me in the heavens?" That is, There is no one there that in my love for him can be compared with thee; no one who can do for me what thou canst do; no one who can meet and satisfy the wants of my soul as thou canst; no one who can be to me what God is — what a God must he. After all my complaining and my doubts there is no one, not even in the heavens, who can supply the place of God, or be to me what God is; and the warm affections of my soul, therefore, are really towards him, I feel my need of him; and I must and do find my supreme happiness in him. What would even heaven be to me without God? who there, even of the angels of light, could supply the place of God? ^ And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. That is, Thou art all-sufficient; thou dost meet and satisfy the wants of my nature. All my happiness is in thee; no one on earth could be substituted in thy place, or be to me what thou art as
26. My fiesh and my heart faileth. Flesh and heart here seem to refer to the whole man, body and soi;l; and the idea is, that his powers of body and mind failed; were spent; were exhausted. This seems to have been said in an ideal sense, or by anticipation. He does not mean to say that his strength then had actually failed, my heart, and my portion " for
27 For, lo, tliey that are far from thee shall perish; thou hast destroyed all them that go
28 But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have pub my trust in the Lord GoD, that I may declare all thy works.
but he seems to have placed himself hy imagination in the situation where his strength loould be all gone — in sickness, in weakness, in sorrow, on the bed of death. He asks himself now what would be his strength then, — what would be the object of chief interest and love, — on what he would rely; and he answers without hesitation, and with entire confidence, that he could rely on God, and that He would be his portion for ever. Even then, when heart and flesh should fail, when all the powers of mind and body should be exhausted, the love of God w^ould survive, and he would find strength and joy in Him. ^ But God is the strength of my heart. Marg., as in Hebrew, rock; — the rock on which my heart relies; that is, my refuge, my defence. See Notes on Ps. xviii. 2. Comp. Ps. Ixi. 2. Tf And my portion for ever. The source of laiy happiness. Not wealth, then; not honour; not earthly friends; not fame, — will be my reliance and the ground of my hope; but that v,'hich I shall regard as most valuable— my supreme joy and rejoicing — will be the fact that God is my friend and portion. With all the doubts which I have had in regard to the rectitude of his government, I am sure that when I come to die, I shall cling to him as my hope, my joy, my all. My last refuge — my sufiieient refuge — is God. When men come to die, they have no other refuge but God. Nothing that they can accumulate of this world's goods will meet their Avants then, for God only can give strength and comfort on the bed of death. Of each and all, how^- ever vigorous they may now be, it will be true that "flesh and heart ^' tcill ''fail;" of each and all it is truG that when this shall occur, none but God can be the portion and ths strength of the soul.
27. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish. All that are estranged from thee; all who are not thy friends. They will certainly be destroyed. For them there can be no hope. This is the fact which solved the difficulty of the psalmist in regard to the Divine dealings with men, vers, 3-7. The fact that there will be a righteous judgment, in which God will deal with men according to their deserts, made all plain. Comp. vers. 16-20. ^ Thou hast destroyed. That is, Thou wilt certainly destroy. The psalmist places himself in the future, and speaks of this as if it were already done. It will be so certainly done that he could speak of it as if it were already accomplished. ^ All them that go a tvhoring from thee. The relation of God to his people is often compared in the Scriptures with the marriage relation (comp. Ps. xlv.) j and a departure from Him is compared with a want of fidelity to the marriage contract. See Matt. xii. 39; xvi. 4; Jer. iii. 8, 9; v. 7; xiii. 27; Ezek. xxiii. 37; Kev. ii. 22.
28. But it is good for me to draw near to God. That is, It is pleasant; it is profitable; it is the chief good. For myself, happiness is to be found in that alone; there I find what my nature pants for and desires. Others find, or attempt to find, happiness in other things; my happiness is found in God alone. This is the result to which the psalmist came after all his perplexity. With all his doubts and difficulties, his o'eal desire was to be near to God; his supreme happiness was found there. •[[ / have put my trust in the Lord GoD. I have truly confided in him; he is my portion and the sole ground of my reliance. The doubts which he had had were not, after all, real doubts about the claim of God to confidence. There was an underlying trust in God in the midst of all this. He had not desired to cherish such doubts; he did, on the most cidni retiection, still trust in God. ^[ That I may declare all thy works. That I might make known thy doings towards the children of men. 1 have desired rightly to understand thee and thy government, that I might vindicate thy name, and assert thy claim to the love and confidence of mankind. His doubts and perplexities had not really been because he was an enemy of God, or because he desired to cherish doubts in regard to him, but because, when appearances were against the equity of the Divine government, he wished to see how the things which occurred could be explained consistently with a proper belief in the goodness and justice of God, in order that he might go and explain the matter to his fellow-men. Such perplexities and doubts, therefore, are not really inconsistent with true love for God and genuine confidence in him; and it is well when such doubts are made the means of enabling us more clearly to explain the Divine dealings, — it is well when, under all such doubts and difficulties, we can still find evidence that we truly love God.
This psalm is entitled "Maschil of Asaph." On the word Maschil — meaning didactic, or adapted to give instruction— see Notes on the title to Psalm xxxii. On the phrase "of Asaph," see Notes on the title to Psalm Ixxiii. It may mean either /o;* Asaph, or q/" Asaph; that is, it may either mean that it was compoa'd by him, or that it was composed/br him, to be used by him as the leader of music in public worship. The foi-mer is the most common, and the most probable opinion. The title, however, may mean that the psalm was dedicated or composed for one of the descendants of this Musician, among whom the office of their ancestor Asaph was hereditary. Thus understood, it might denote simply that the psalm belonged to that class of psalms which were composed for the one who, at the time, presided over the music.
If this is the meaning, there would bo no impropriety in supposing that this psalm was com})osed near the time of the captivity, and had reference to the destruction of the ti'mple by the Chaldeans, to which the language seems naturally to refer. Yet the occasion on which it was composed is not certainly known, and cannot be ascertained /rowi the psalm. All that is manifest is, that it was at a time when the land was invaded; when great ravages were committed; and when a work of desolation was perpetrated on the edifices upon Mount Zion, and particularly on the temple. The language could be applied either to the destruction of the temple in the time of the Babylonish invasion; or to the times of the Maccabees, and to the desolations brought upon the land by Antiochiis Epiphanes; or to some fonner desolation before the temple was built. liosenm tiller, Yenema, De Wette, and some others, suppose that the reference is to the time of the Maccabees. The reason alleged for this opinion is founded on Avhat is said in vers. 4, 9, particularly ver. 9, where it is asserted that "there is no more any prophet;" that is, no one to instruct t£e people, or to declare Avhat the result or the issue will be. It is alleged by them that at the time of the invasion by the Chaldeans there were prophets in the land, and particularly that Jeremiah was then living, who distinctly predicted what the result of it would be. But this is not a conclusive objection to the idea that the reference is to the destruction of the city and the temple by the Chaldees. The meaning of verse 9 may be that there was no Divine teacher who could save the people, or who could prevent those desolations; the matter had gone so far that all Divine interference and protection appeared to be withdrawn, and the nation seemed to be abandoned to its fate. Still there can now be no certainty as to the time or the occasion Avhen the psalm was composed; though the most probable reference of the psalm is to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians.
The psalm consists essentially of two parts: a prayer; and the reasons why the prayer is" urged, and should be answered.
I. The prayer, vers. 1-3. It is a prayer that God would remember Mount
A GOD, why hast thou cast us ^ off for ever? ivhy doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?
2 Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the ^ rod of thine inheritance, ichich thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt,
Zion, now made desolate, or in rums.
II. The reasons why the prayer is urged, vers. 4-23.
(1) The desolations which had come upon the city and upon the edifices devoted to religion, vers. 4-8.
(2) The fact that there was among the people, in those times of calamity, no prophet — no messenger of God— no one to show them how long this would continue, or to give them assurance that these desolations would cease, vers. 9-11.
(3) A reference to what God had done for his people in former times when he interposed to save them from their enemies, vers. 12-15.
(4) The fact that God rules over the earth, and has control of all things; that day and night, light and. darkness, summer and winter, are all under him, and are directed and controlled b)/ him, vers. 16, 17.
(5) A prayer that God would not forget his own cause; that he would I'emember that these reproaches were reproaches of his own name; that he would call to mind his own solemn covenant; and that he would pity and relieve the people that loved him, now poor and oppressed, — the people that desired to serve and praise him, vers. 18-23.
1. O God, ivliy hast tJiou cast us off for ever? Thou seemest to have cast us off" for ever, or finally. Comp. Notes on Ps. xliv. 9; xiii. 1. ^ Why doth thine anger smoke. See Deut. xxix. 20. The presence of smoke indicates ^?*e, and the language here is such as often occurs in the Scriptures, when anger or wrath is compared with fire. See Deut. xxxii. 22; Jer. XV. 14. 1" Against the sheep of thy pasture. Thy people, represented as a flock. See Ps. Ixxix. 13; xcv. 7. This increases the tenderness of the appeal. The wrath of God seemed to be enkindled against his own people, helpless and defenceless, who needed his care, and who might naturally look for it — as a flock needs the care of a shepherd, and as the care of the shepherd might be expected. He seemed to be angry with his people, and to have cast them off, when they had every reason to anticipate his protection.
2. Rememher thy congregation. The word rendered congregation means properly an assembly, a community, and it is frequently applied to the Israelites, or the Jewish people, considered as a body or a community associated for the service of God. Ex. xii. 3; xvi. 1, 2, 9; Lev. iv. 15 j Num. xxvii. 17. The word used by the Septuagint is dvvayujyy) — synagogue — but refers here to the whole Jewish people, not to a particular synagogue or congregation. \ Which thou hast purchased of old. In ancient times; in a former age. That is. Thou hast "purchased" them to thyself, or as thine own, by redeeming them from bondage, thus securing to thyself the right to them, as one does who redeems or purchases a thing. See Notes on Isa. xliii. 3. ^ The rod of thine inheritance. Marg., as in Heb., tribe. The Hebrew word — D^ti), shebet — means properly a staff, stick, rod; then, a shepherd's staff, a crook; then, a sceptre; and then it is used to denote a tribe, so called from the staff or sceptre which the chief of the tribe carried as the symbol of authority. Ex. xxviii. 21; Judges xx. 2. The word inheritance is frequently applied to the children of Israel considered as belonging to God, as property inherited belongs to him who owns it, — perhaps suggesting the idea that the right to them had come down, as inherited property does, from age to age. It was a right over them ac-
" 3 Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.
midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns /or signs.
5 A 'man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees.
quired long before, in the days of the Patriarchs. ^ Which thoti hast redeemed. By delivering them out of Egyptian bondage. So the church is now redeemed, and, as such, it belongs to God. ^ This mount Zlon. Jerusalem — the seat of government, and of public worship — the capital of the nation. ^ Wherein thou hast divelt. By the visible symbol of thy presence and power. — On all these considerations the psalmist prays that God would not forget Jerusalem in the present time of desolation and trouble.
3. Lift up thy feet. That is. Advance, or draw near. Come and look directly and personally on the desolations which now exist in the holy city. ^ Unto the perpetual desolations. Heb., "the ruins of perpetuity," or eternity; that is, such as have been long continued, and •threaten to continue for ever. The ruin had not suddenly come, and it did not seem likely soon to pass away, but appeared to be entire and permanent. The destruction of the city seemed to be complete and final. ^ Even all that the enemy hath done xmclcedly. That is, with wicked intent and purpose. The reference seems to be to the Chaldeans, and to the ruin which they had brought upon the temple and city. If In the sanctuary. That is, either Jerusalem, considered as a holy place; or the temple, the place of the public worship of God.
4. Thine enemies roar. This refers to the shout and tumult of war. They raised up the war-cry even in the very place where the congregations had been assembled; where God had been worshipped. The word rendered roar properly has reference to wild beasts; and the meaning is, that their war-cry resembled the howling of beasts of prey. \ In the midst of thy congregations. Literally, in the midst of thine assemlly. This is a different word from that which is rendered congregation in ver. 2. This word — 13^172, moaid — means a meeting together by mutual appointment, and is often applied to the meeting of God with his people at the tabernacle, which was therefore called " the tent of the congregation," — or, more properl}', " the tent of meeting," — as the place where God met with his people, Ex. xxix. 10, 44; xxxiii. 7; Lev. iii. 8, 13 j x. 7, 9; et scepe. The meaning here is, that they roared like wild beasts in the very place which God had appointed as the place where he would meet with his people. ^ They set up their ensigns for signs. That is, they set up their banners or standards, as the standards of the place; as that which indicated sovereignty over the place. They proclaimed thus that it was a conquered place, and they set up their own standards as denoting their title to it, or as declaring that they ruled there. It was no longer a place sacred to God; it was publicly seen to belong to a foreign power.
5. A man iv as famous. Literally, " He is known;" or, shall be known. That is, be was or shall be celebrated. 5r According as he had lifted up axes. Literally, "As one raising on high axes;" i. e. as one lifts up his axe high in the air in order to strike an efi'ectual stroke. •[[ Upon the thick trees. The clumps of trees; the trees standing thick together. That is. As he showed skill and ability in cutting these down, and laying them low. His celebrity was founded on the rapidity with which the strokes of the axe fell on the trees, and his success in laying low the pride of the forest. According to our common N
6 But now tliey break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers.
7 They have ^ cast fire into thy sanctuary; they have defiled hy
translation the meaning is, that formerly a man derived his fame from his skill and success in wielding his axe so as to lay the forest low, but that now his fame was to be derived from another source, viz., the skill and power with which he cut down the elaborately-carved work of the sanctuary, despoiled the columns of their ornaments, and demolished the columns themselves. But another interpretation may be given to this, as has been suggested by Prof. Alexander. It is, that *'the ruthless enemy is known or recognized as dealing with the sanctuary no more tenderly than a woodman with the forest which he fells." The former, however, is the more natural, as well as the more common interpretation. Luther renders it, " One sees the axe glitter on high, as one cuts wood in the forest." The Vulgate, and the Septuagint, "The signs pointing to the entrance above that they did not know." What idea was attached to this rendering, it is impossible to determine.
6. But noio iliey hreah dotvn the carved ivorJc thereof, etc. Literally, *' But now the carvings of it together [at once] with sledge and hammers they beat down." The carved work refers evidently to the crnaments of the temple. The word used here — nWS, pittuahh — is rendered engraving, carved ivorTc, or carving; Ex. xxviii. 11, 21, 36; xxxix. 6, 14, 30; Zech. iii. 9; 2 Chron. li. 14. It is the very word which in 1 Kings vi. 29 is applied to the ornaments around the walls of the temple — the " carved figurfes of cherubim, and palm trees, and open flowers," — and there can be no doubt that the allusion here is to those ornaments. These were rudely cut down, or knocked off, with axea and hammers, as a man lays low
casting down the dwelling-place of thy name to the ground.
8 They said in their hearts, Let us 2 destroy them together;
1 sent thy sanctuanj into the fire. * break.
the trees of the wood. The phrase " at once " means that they drove forward the work with all despatch. They spared none of them. They treated them all alike as an axeman does the trees of a forest when his object is to clear the land.
7. They have cast fire into thy sanctuary. Into the temple to destroy it. Literally, " They have cast thy sanctuary into the fire." The meaning is, that they had burned it down. This was actually done by the Chaldeans, 2 Kings XXV. 9j 2 Chron. xxxvi. 19. ^ They have defiled by casting down the divelUng -place of thy name to the ground. The place where thy name dwelt or was recorded (Ex. XX. 24); that Is, the place where God's name was known, or where he was worshipped. The literal meaning is, " To the earth they have defiled the dwelling of thy name." Tlie idea is, that they had defiled or pol-« luted the temple by throwing it to the ground; by making it a heap of ruins; by making it undistinguishable from common earth.
8. They said in their hearts. They purposed; they designed it. ■[[ Let us destroy them together. Let us destroy all these buildings, temples, towers, and walls at the same time; let us make an entire destruction of them all. •[[ They have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land. The phrase " they have burned up " must refer to the places or edifices where assemblies for public worship were held, since it cannot be supposed that the idea is that they had burned up the assemblies of worshippers themselves. The word rendered synagogues is the same in the Hebrew that is used in ver. 4, and is there rendered congregations. It means asssmhlies, persons collected together for public worship. See they tave burned up all tlie synagogues of God in the land. 9 We see not our signs: </iere
Notes on that verse. It is not used in the Bible to denote p/ac<?<s for the meetings of such iisseinblies, nor is it elsewhere rendered synagogues. It is translated by the word seasons, Gen. i. 14; Ex. xiii. 10, et al.; — set time. Gen. xvii. 21; Ex. ix. 5, et al.; time appointed, Ex. xxiii. 15; 2 Sam. xxiv. 15, et al.; — congregation. Lev. i. 1, 3, 5; iii. 2, 8, 13, and very often; —feasts. Lev. xxiii. 2, 4, 37, et al.; — solemnity, Deut. xxxi. 10; Isa. xxxiii. 20; — and so also, set feasts, solemn feasts, appointed feasts, etc. But in no instance does it necessarily refer to an edifice, unless it is in the place before us. There is no reason, however, for doubting that, from the necessity of the case, iu the coarse of events, there would be other places for assembling for the worship of God than the temple, and that in different cities, villages, towns, and neighbourhoods, persons would be collected together for some form of social religious service. Buildings or tents would be necessary for the accommodation of such assemblages; and this, in time, might be developed into a system, till in this way the whole arrangement for synagogues might have grown up in the land. The exact origin of synagogues is not indeed known. Jahn (' Biblical Archaeology,' § 344) supposes that they sprang up during the Babylonish captivity, and that they had their origin in the fact that the people, when deprived of their customary religious privileges, would collect around some prophet, or other pious man, who would teach them and their children the duties of religion, exhort them to good conduct, and read to them out of the sacred books. Comp. Ezek. xiv, 1; xx. 1; Dan. vi. 11; Nell, viii, 18. There seems, however, no good reason for doubting that synagogues may have existed before the time of the captivity, and may have sprung up in the manner sug-
is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how loner.
gested above from the necessities of the people, probably at first without any fixed rule or law on the subject, but as convenience suggested, and that they may at last, by custom and law, have grown into the regular form which they assumed as a part of the national worship. Comp. Kitto's Encyc. Art. * Synagogue.' 1 see no improbabilitj', therefore, in supposing that the Avord here may refer to such edifices at the time when this psalm was composed. These, if they existed, would naturally be destroyed by the Chaldeans, as well as the temple itself.
9. We see not our signs. The emblems of worship, or the national emblems or banners, which we have been accustomed to see. There are no signals or tokens of our nationality in the land. All have been removed by the invaders, and we see everywhere evidences of the presence of a foreign power. The marks of our own independency are gone. The nation is subdued and conquered. ^ There is no more any prophet. No one is raised up as the special messenger of God to assure us of his favour, or to take the lead in the national troubles. In times of danger God had been accustomed to send to them some special teacher who would declare his will, direct the nation what to do, and give encouraging assurances that the national troubles would cease, and that deliverance would come. They saw no such messengei's of God now. This is not inconsistent with the supposition that this psalm was written before the captivity, and in the time of the Chaldean invasion, or with the supposition that Jeremiah was then alive; for the meaning may be, not that literally tliere was no prophet in the land, but that there was no one who had come from God as a special messenger of comfort and deliverance. Ruin had come upon them, and there were no indications
10 O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?
11 Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom.
12 For Goc'i is my King c of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 Thou '^ didst ^ divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest * the heads of the 2 dragons in the waters.
of Divine interposition in their behalf. ^ Neither is there among tis any that Jcnoweth how long. How long ■these calamities are to continue. No one can tell when they are to end. The prophetic office seemed to have ceased among them. It was renewed, however, after the captivity, in the case of Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, and Malachi.
10. O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? etc. How long shall this state of things be allowed to continue? Is there to be no end to it? Are these desolations never to be repaired, — these ruins never to be rebuilt? It seemed so; and hence this earnest appeal. So to us it often appears as if our trials were never to come to an end. One calamity succeeds another; and there comes no relief. Yet there is relief. Deliverance may come, and soon come, in the present life; — or if not in the present life, yet to all those who are the children of God it toill soon come by their removal to a world where trial will be for ever unknown.
11, Why loithdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? Why dost thou not stretch forth thy hand for our deliverance? The hand, especially the right hand, is the instrument by which we wield a sword, or strike a blow; and the expression here is equivalent to asking why God did not interfere and save them. ^ Pluck it out of thy bosom. As if God had hidden his hand beneath the folds of his garment, or had wrapped his robe tightly around him. It seemed as if he had done this, as if he looked calmly on, and saw the temple fired, the synagogues burned up, the land laid waste, and the people slaughtered, without an attempt to interpose. How often are we constrained to use similar language,— to ask a similar question, — when iniquity abounds, when crime prevails, when sinners are perishing, when the church mourns, — for God seems to have withdrawn his hand, and to be looking on with unconcern! No one can tell ^vhy this is so; and, without irreverence, or a spirit of murmuring, but deeply affected with the nfystery of the fact, we may ask " Why " this is so.
12. For God is my King of old. That is, the king, or ruler of his people. The people had acknowledged him as their king and ruler, and he had showed himself to be such. This is given as a reason why he should now interpose in their behalf. It is an argument, proper always to be urged, drawn from the faithfulness and unchangeableness of God. Tf WorJcing salvation in the midst of the earth. Salvation for his people. The reference here particularly is to what he had done for his people in delivering them from bondage in Egypt, and conducting them to the promised land, as is stated in the following verses.
13. Thou didst divide the sea hy thy strength. Marg., as in Heb., break. That is, he had by his power broken tip the strength of the sea so that it offered no resistance to their passing through it. The allusion is evidently to the passage through the Red Sea, Ex. xiv. 21. ^ Thou brakest the heads of the dragons. Marg., ivhales. On the meaning of the word used here — Tannin — see Notes on Isa. xiii. 22; Job xxx. 29. It refers here, undoubtedly, to croco-
14 Thou brakest tlie heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to he meat to the j^eople inhabiting the mlderness.
15 Thou didst cleave / the
diles or sea- monsters. The language here is used to denote the absolute power of God as manifested over the sea when the people of Israel passed through it. It was as if by slaying all the mighty monsters of the deep that would have resisted their passage, he had made their transit entirely safe. ^ In the waters. That reside in the waters of the sea.
1-i. Thou hraTcest the heads of leviathan in pieces. On the meaning of the word leviathan, see Notes on Job xli. 1. The word is used here as descriptive of sea-monsters. •[[ And gavest him to be meat. Gavesf him for food. % To the people inhabiting the wilderness. That is, the seamonsters were killed, and, being thrown on shore, were gathered for food. The " inhabitants of the wilderness " or the desert, mag refer either to the wild and savage tribes of men that lived on the shores of the sea, and that subsisted mainly on fish, or it mag refer to the wild animals of the desert that consumed such sea- monsters as they were cast up on the shore. There is no allusion to the Israelites considered as passing through the desert, as if theg had fed on these sea-monsters. The essential idea is, that these monsters were put to death, or were so removed out of the way as to offer no obstruction to the passage of the Israelites through the sea. It was a* //"they had been killed. The image is entirely poetic, and there is no necessity for supposing that such a thing literally occurred.
15. Thoit didst cleave the fountain and the flood. That is, the source of the streams and the streams themselves. The main allusion is probably to the Jordan, and the idea is, that
fountain and the flood: thou driedst up ^ mighty rivers.
16 The day f' is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light ^ and the sun.
17 Thou hast set all the bor-
God had, as it were, divided all the waters, or prevented any obstruction to his people from the river in any respect; — as if the waters in the very springs and fountains, and the waters in the channel of the river flowing from those springs and fountains, had been so restrained and divided that there was a safe passage through them. Josh. iii. 14-17. ^ Thott driedst np mighty rivers. Marg., rivers of strength. The Hebrew — \TVi<y ciithan — (comp. Dent. xxi. 4; Amos V. 24; 1 Kings viii. 2)— means rather perennial, constant, everflowing. The allusion is to rivers or streams that flow constantly, or that do not dry up. It was this which made the miracle so apparent. Ifc could not be pretended that they had gone over the bed of a stream which was accustomed to be dry at certain seasons of the year. They passed over rivers that never dried up; and, therefore, it could have been only by miracle. The main allusion is undoubtedly to the passage of the Jordan.
16. The dag is thine, the night also is thine. Thou hast universal dominion. All things are under thy control. Thou hast power, therefore, to grant what we desire of thee. % Thou hast prepared the light aiid the sun. He who has made the sun — that greatest and noblest object of creation to the view of man — must have almighty power, and must be able to give what we need.
17. Thotc hast set all the horders of the earth. Thou hast established all the boundaries of the world; — that is, the boundaries of the earth itself; — or the natural boundaries of nations and people, made by seas, mountains, rivers, and deserts. The language in regard to the lirst of
18 Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O Lord, and that the ' foolish people have blasphemed thy name.
19 O deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove unto the multitude of the li'icked: forget not the congregation of thy ^ poor for
these — the earth itself — would be derived from the prevalent mode of speaking, as if the earth were a plane, and had limits — a common mode of expression in the Scriptures, as it is in all ancient writings, and in the common language of men, even of philosophers. In regard to the latter idea, the language would imply that God had fixed, by his own power and will, all the natural boundaries of nations, or that his dominion is over all the earth. There are natural boundaries, or arrangements in nature, which tend to break up the one great family of man into separate nations, and which seem to have been designed for that. Comp. Acts xvii. 26. Over all these God presides, and he has his own great plans to accomplish by the arrangement. % Thou hast made summer and tointer. Literally, as in the margin, Summer and tointer, thou hast made them. That is, he has so made the earth that these various seasons will occur. The fact that there are different seasons of the year, or that the year is divided into seasons, is to be traced to the agency* of God. He has so made the world that these changes will take place. Nothing is the result of chance; all things in the arrangements of nature are by his design.
18. Mememher this, that the enemy liath re'proached. Has used opprobrious and abusive words in regai'd to thee, and to thy people. The idea is, that religion — the true religion — had been reproached by the foe. They had treated that religion as if it were false; they had reproached God as if he were a false God, and as if he were unable to defend his people. Comp. Isa. xxxvi. 4-10, 13-20; xxxvii. 10- 13, 23. The ]n-ayer here is, that God would remember that these words of reproach were against himself, and that he would regard them as such. \ And that the foolish people have blasphemed thy 7iame. Have blasphemed thee — the name often being put for the person himself. The word foolish here may refer to them as wic/ced as well as foolish. Wickedness and folly are so connected, — they are so commonly combined, that the word may be used to describe the enemies of God in either sense — characterising their conduct as either the one or the other. Comp. Notes on Ps. xiv. 1.
19. O deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove. The life of thy turtledove; or, thy turtle-dove itself. The turtle-dove is a name of endearment for one beloved, in Cant. ii. 12, and is thus applied here to the people of Israel. The leading idea in such an application of the word is that of innocence, harmlessness, timidity, gentleness. The thought here is that of a people dear to God, now timid and alarmed. It is the prayer of a people beloved by God that he would not deliver them to their enemies. The prayer may be regarded as one which was used on the occasion referred to in the psalm; or, as a general prayer for the people of God, considered as exposed to ravening enemies. ^ Unto the multitude of the wicked. The words of the tvicked are not in the original. The word rendered mtdtittide — HTT.
hhayyah — (comp. Notes on Ps. Ixviii. 10) — is the same which in the other member of the sentence is rendered congregation. It may be applied to a herd of cattle, tame or wild; and then to a people — a band, a troop, a host — whether of orderly and civilized, or of wild and savage people. It seems to be used in this double sense in the verse before us; in the first member of the verse, " deliver not thy
20 Have respect unto tlie ' covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habi-
turtle-dove to the multitude — to the wild beast, or to the savage hosts; in the latter, " forget not the congregation of thy poor'' — thy flock — thj— people— considered as tip^iid or alarmed. Save the timid and trembling flock from beasts of prey.
20. Have respect tinto the covenant. The covenant which thou hast made with thy people, promising, on thy part, to protect them, and to be their God. Comp. Deut. iv. 13; v. 2; xxvi. 18, 19. The prayer here is, that God would remember, in the day of national calamity, the solemn promise implied in that covenant, and that he would interpose to save his people. Comp. Gen. ix. 15; Lev. xxvi. 42; Ezek. xvi. 60; Luke i. 72. This may be regarded as the language which the people did use v;hen these calamities were about to come upon them. ^ For the dark places of the earth. The allusion here is to the lands from whence came the armies that had invaded Judea, and that threatened desolation. They were dark regions of heathenism and idolatry. ^ Are full of the habitations of cruelty. The abodes of violence, or of violent and cruel men. They had sent forth their armies from such places for purposes of conquest and rapine, and no compassion could be expected from them. Their numbers were so great, and their character was so fierce and warlike, that the people of Israel could find defence and security only in God; and they, therefore, plead with him that lie would interpose in their behalf. The prayer in this passage may with propriety be used by the people of God now. It is still true that "the dark parts of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty;" and in view of this fact, and of the utter hopelessness of the renovation of the world
21 O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name.
by any human means, or by any progress which society can make of itself, it is proper to seek God's interposition. And it is proper in such prayers to him now, as in ancient times, to make the ground of our appeal to him his own gracious covenant; his promises made to his church; his solemn assurances that this state of things shall not always continue, but that the time will arrive when the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord.
21. O let not the oppressed return ashamed. Ashamed by being disappointed, as if they had trusted in that which had no claims to confidence. Comp. Notes on Job vi. 20. The word rendered oppressed, means trodden doiim, crushed, broken, afflicted. It refers to the people as attacked by foreign armies, or as crushed by those who had gained power over them. The word return refers to their coming back from God — from the throne of mercy. Let them not come back from thee with no assurance of thy favour; with no evidence that their prayers have been heard; let them not come back, subject to the reproach that they had made their appeal to thee in vain. % Let the poor and needy praise thy name. The people who are oppressed and helpless. Let them have occasion to praise thee because their prayer has been heard, and because thou dost save them.
22. Arise, O God. As if God were now insensible to the wrongs and sufferings of his people; as if he were inattentive and indisposed to come to their help. See Notes on Ps. iii. 7. ^ Plead thine oivn cause. Literally, " Contend thine own contention." That is. Maintain a cause which is really thine own. Thine own honour is concerned; thine own law and au- own cause: remember tow tlie foolish man reproaclieth tliee daily.
23 Forgret not the voice of
thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee ^ increaseth continually.
tliorlty ai'e assailed; the war is really made on thee. This is always the true idea in the prayers which are oftered for the conversion of sinners, for the establishment of truth, and for the spread of the Gospel in the world. It is not originally the cause of the church; it is the cause of God. Everything in regard to truth, to justice, to humanity, to temperance, to liberty, to religion, is the cause of God. All the assaults made on these, are assaults made on God. 'J Hemember how tl e foolish man reproacheth thee dailii. Constantly. He does not cease. The wordybo^w/^refei's to the wicked. The idea is, that the wicked constantly reproach God — either by their language or their conduct; and this is a reason for calling on him to interpose. No better reason for asking his interposition can be given, than that such conduct is a real reproach to God, and reflects on his honour in the world.
23. Forget not the voice of thine enemies. The voice of thine enemies clamouring for the destruction of thy people. Comp. Ps. cxxxvii. 7. The prayer is, that God would bring deserved chastisement upon them for their purposes and their aims against his people. It is not necessarily a prayer for vengeance; it is a prayer for just retribution. ^ The tumult of those that rise up against thee. Of those that make war on thee, and on thy people. Tiie word tumult here means clamour or shout — as the shout of battle. The reference is to the movement of a host pressing on to conquest, encouraging and exciting each other, and endeavouring to intimidate their enemies by the loud clamour of the war-cry. It is a dercription of what had occurred among the main events referred to in the psalm, when the enemy came in to lay waste the capital, and to spread desolation throughout the land. % Increaseth continuallg. Marg., as in Heb., Ascendeth. That is, it seems to go up; it is the swelling clamour of a great multitude of warriors intent on conquest. A cry or clamour thus seems to swell or rise on the air, and (as it were) to ascend to God. The prayer here is, that God would regard that cry, not in the sense that he would grant them the fultilment of their wishes, but in the sense that he would recompense them as they deserved. It is in this sense that the clamours of the wicked ascend to heaven,— in this sense that God will regard them, as if they were a prayer for just retribution.
This psalm, lil^e the two previous psalms, is ascribed to Asaph (see Introd. to Ps. Ixxiii.), and there is no reason to doubt that it is con-ectly attributed to him. On the phrase in the title, "To the chief Musician," see Introd. to Ps. iv. On the phrase " Al-tascliith," see Notes on the title to Ps. Ivii. The phrase "A Psalm or Song" (in Heb., a psalm — a song), occurs also in the title to other psalms, as Ps. xxx., Ixv., etc.
It is not possible now to determine the occasion on which this psalm was composed, as it is not indicated in the title, and there are no historical references in the psalm itself which would enable us to ascertain it. The general purpose is mdicated in ver. 1, wliich is to ascribe praise to God for some particular manifestation of his favour. So far as can be conjectured from the psalm, there are two things Avhich may have been referred to. (I.) The first is, that it was composed by some one — or for some one, in his name, as expressing his feelings — who was about to enter on the administration of the affairs of the nation, apparently a young prince soon to ascend the throne. See ver. 2, " When I shall receive the congregation," etc. (II.) The second is, that it would seem to have been a time
To the chief Musician, ^ Al-taschith. m A PSalm or Song 2 of Asaph.
TTNTO thee, O God, do we give ^ thanks, zinto thee do we give thanks: for that thy name is near, thy wondrous works declare.