Notes on the Old and New Testaments

39 For lie remembered = that tLey 2vere hut flesli; a wind « that passeth away, and cometli not again.

40 How oft did they ^ jDrovoke

* him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!

41 Yea, they turned back, and tempted God. and limited ^ the Holy One of Israel.

That is, he was ready to foi'give them. ^ Forgave their iniquity. Literally, Atoned for, expiated, covered over their iniqnitt/. There is connected with the word the idea of expiation or atonement, as the ground of pardon. % And destroyed them not. Did not cut them oft" in their repeated acts of rebellion. He bore with them, and spared them. ^ Yea, many a time turned he his anger aivay. Literally, He multiplied to turn his anger aivay. That is, he did it repeatedly. There were frequent occasions on their journey for doing this, and he did it. ^ And did not stir i(p all Jiis ivrath. Literally, Did not excite, or arouse all his anger. His anger was stayed or mitigated, and they were suftered still to live.

39. For he remembered that they were but flesh. That they were human; that they were weak; that they were prone to err; that they were liable to fall into temptation. In his dealings with them he took into view their f;\llen nature; their training; their temptations; their trials; their weaknesses; and he judged them accordingly. Comp. Ps. ciii. 14. So it was with the Saviour in his treatment of his disciples, "The spirit indeed is willing, hut the flesh is weak," Matt. xxvi. 41. God will judge men as they are; he will not in his judgments forget that they are men, and that they are weak and feeble. Men often judge their fellow-meTi with much more harshness, with much less allowance for their infirmities and weaknesses, than God shows in his d«!alings with mankind. And yet such are the very men who are most ready to blame God for his judgments. If God acted on the principle and in the manner according to which they act, they could hope for no mercy at his hand. It is well for them that there is not one like themselves on the throne of the universe. ^ A ivind that passeth aioay, and Cometh not again. Which blows by us, and is gone for ever. What a striking description is this of man! How true of an individual! How true of a generation! How true of the race at large! God remembers this when he thinks of men, and he deals with them accordingly. He is not harsh and severe, but kind and compassionate. To man, a being so feeble, — to the human race, so frail, — to the generations of that race, so transitory, so soon passing off the stage of life, — he is ever willing to show compassion. He does not make use of his great power to crush them; he prefers to manifest his mercy in saving them,

40. Hoto oft did they provoke him in the ivilderness. Marg., Or, rebel against him. The Hebrev/ word may have the signification in the margin. The idea is, that they were perverse and rebellious; that they excited his displeasure, and gave occasion for his anger. See ver. 17. 'H And grieve him in the desert. The word here rendered grieve means (1) to tcork, to fashion; (2) to suflerpain, to travail, to be afflicted; and then, (3) to cause one to suft'er pain, or to afflict. The meaning here is that the conduct of the Hebrews was such as was fitted to cause pain, — as the conduct of a disobedient and rebellious child is.

41. Yea, they turned back, and tempted God. They turned away from his service; they were disposed to return to Egypt, and to place themselves in the condition in which they were before they were delivered

42 Tliey remembered not his hand, no7' the day when he delivered them from the i enemy:

43 How he had 2 ^vi-ou^ht his signs in Egypt, and his wonders <* in the field of Zoan:

44 And had turned their rivers

from bondage. ^ Aiid limited the Soly One of Israel. The idea is, that they set a limit to the power of God; they fancied or alleged — (and this is a thing often done practically even by the professed people of God) — th:it there was a boundary in respect to power which he could not pass, or that there were things to be done which he had not the'ability to perform. The original word — friH tavah — occurs but three times in the Scriptures; — in 1 Sam. xxi. 13, where it is rendered scrabbled (in the margin, made marks); in Ezek. ix. 4, where it is rendered set, i.e., set a mark (marg., mark); and in the place before us. It is rendered here by the Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate, to provoke to anger. De Wette translates it troubled. Professor Alexander, "On the Holy One of Israel [they] set a mark." The idea in the word would seem to be that of making a mark for any purpose; and then it means to delineate; to scrawl; or to set a mark for a limit or boundary. Thus it might be applied to God, — as if, in estimating his character or his power, they set limits or bounds to it, as one does in marking out a farm or a house-lot in a city or town. There was a limit, in their estimation, to the power of God, beyond which he could not act; or, in other words, his power was defined and bounded, so that beyond a certain point he could not aid them.

42. They remembered not his hand. His gracious interpositions; the manifestations of his power. They forgot that power had been exercised w-hich showed that he was oinni])otc'nt, — • that there toas no limit to his ability to aid them. ^ Nor the day tohen he

into « blood; and their floods, that they could not drink.

45 He / sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them.

delivered them from the enemy. The time when he rescued them. The power then manifested was sufficient to defend and deliver them in any new dangers that could befall them. The margin is, from ajfiiction. The Hebrew will admit of either interpretation. The sense is not materially changed.

43. Row he had wrought his signs in Egypt. Marg., set. The Hebrew word means to set or place. The word signs here refers to miracles as signs or indications of God's power and favour. The things which he did were of such a nature as to show that he was almighty, and at the same time to assure them of his disposition to protect them. Tf And his ivonders in the field of Zoan. The wonderful things which he did; the things fitted to excite amazement, or astonishment. On the word Zoan, see Notes on ver. 12.

44. And had turned their rivers into blood. Ex. vii. 20. There was properly but one river in Egypt — the Nile. But there were several branches of that river at the mouth; and there were numerous artificial streams or canals cut from the river, to any one of which the w^ord river might be also given. Comp. Notes on Isa. xi. 15. \ And their floods, etc. Their streams; the canals and branches of the Nile, where they usually obtained a supply of water.

45. He sent divers sorts of flies, etc. The account of this plague is found in Ex. viii. 24. The word there used is simply " sivarm," without indicating tvhat the swarm was composed of. The Rabbins explain the word as denoting a mixture, or a conflux of noxious insects, as if the word were

46 He g gave also their increase unto the caterpiUar, and their labour unto the locust.

47 He ^ destroyed their vines with f" hail, and their sycamore -

derived from 'yy^ — arah — to mix. The Septuagint renders it kwoixvlu — dorj-flif — which Philo describes as so named from its impudence. The common explanation of the word now is tliat it denotes a species of fly — the gad-fly — exceedingly troublesome to man and beast, and that it derives its name — niV» ^''^^ — from the verb ^"^y» arab, in one of its significafious to suck, and hence the allusion to sticking the blood of animals. The word occurs only in the following places, Exod. viii. 21, 22, 24, 29, 31, where it is rendered swarm, or sioarms, and Ps. cv. 31, where (as here) it is rendered divers sorts ofjlies. ^ And frogs which destroyed them. Ex. viii. 6. The order in which the plagues occurred is not preserved in the account in the psalm.

46. He gave also their increase unto the caterpillar. The increase or the produce of their fields. Exod. x. 12-14. The word ^^pfT, hhasil—\s supposed to denote a species of locust rather than the caterpillar. It literally means the devourer. In our version, however, it is uniformly rendered caterpillar as here; 1 Kings viii. 37; 2 Chron. vi. 28; Isa. xxxiii. 4; Joel i. 4; ii. 25. It occurs nowhere else. ^ And their labour unto the locust. The fruit of their labour; the harvests in their fields.

47. He destroi/ed their vines with hail. Marg., killed. See Exod. ix. 22-26. In the account in Elxodus the liail is said to have smitten man and beast, the herb, and the tree of the field. In the psalm only one thing is mentioned, perhaps denoting the ruin by what would be particularly felt in Palestine, where the culture of the grape was so common and so important. ^ And their sycamore trees

48 He 3 gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to 4 hot thunderbolts.

ivilh frost. The sycamore is mentioned particularly as giving poetic beauty to the passage. Of the sycamore tree. Dr. Thomson I'emarks (" Land and the Book," vol. i. p. 25), " It is a tender tree, flourishes immensely in sandy plains and warm vales, but cannot bear the hard, cold mountain. A sharp frost will kill them; and this agrees with the fact that they were killed by it in Egypt. Among the* wonders wrought in the field of Zoan, David says, ' He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamores with fi-ost.' Certainly, a frost keen enough to kill the sycamore would be one of the greatest * wonders ' that could happen at the present day in this same field of Zoan." The word rendered frost — ^TDiTT) hhanamal — occurs nowhere else. It is parallel with the word hail in the other member of the sentence, and denotes something that would be destructive to trees. The Septuagint, the Vulgate, and the Arabic render it frost. Gesenius renders it ants.

48. He gave up their cattle also to the hail. Marg., he shut tip. Ex. ix. 22-25. ^ And their flocks to hot thunderbolts. Marg., lightnings. The original word means flame; then, lightning. There is no allusion in the word to the idea of a bolt, or shaft, accompanying the lightning or the thunder, by which destruction is produced. The destruction is caused by the lightning, and not by the thunder, and it is hardly necessary to say that there is no shaft or bolt that accompanies it. Probably this notion was formerly entertained, and found its way into the common language used. The same idea is retained by us in the word thunderbolt. But this idea is not in the original; nor is there any foundation for it in fact.

49 He cast -upon tliem tlie fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, bysending evil angels among them.

50 He ^ made a way to his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their " life over to the pestilence;

51 And smote all the first-bom

49. He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, etc. This verse is designed to describe the last, and the most dreadful of the plagues that came upon the Egyptians, the slaying of their first-born; and hence there is such an accM»2Z(?ai^zow of expressions: — anger, — fierce anger, — wrath, — indignation,— trouble. All these expressions are designed to be emphatic; all these things were combined when the first-born were slain. There was no form of affliction that could surpass this; and in this trial all the expressions of the Divine displeasure seemed to be exhausted. It was meant that this should be the last of the plagues; it was meant that the nation should be humbled, and should be made willing that the people of Israel should go. ^ Bij sending evil angels among them. There is reference here undoubtedly to the slaying of the first-born in Egypt. Ex. xi. 4, 5; xii. 29, 30. This work is ascribed to the agency of a destroyer (Ex. xii. 23; couip. Heb. xi. 28), and the allusion seems to be to 'A. destroying angel, or to an angel employed and commissioned to accomplish sucli a work. Comp. 2 Sam. xxiv. 16; 2 Kings xix. 35. The idea here is not that the angel himself was evil or toicJced, but that he was the messenger of evil or calamity; he was the instrument by which these afflictions were brought upon them.

50. He made a way to his anger. Marg., he iceighed a path. He levelled a path for it; he took away all hindrance to it; he allowed it to have free scope. The idea of weighing is t in Egypt; the chief of fhdr strength in the tabernacles of Ham:

62 But made his o^vn people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.

53 And ^ he led them on safely, so that they feared not: but the sea ^ overwhelmed their enemies.

54 And he brought them to

not in the original. The allusion is to a preparation made by which one can march along freely, and without any obstruction. See Notes on Isa. xl. ^4. \ He spared not their sotil from death. He spared not theii* lives. That is, he gave them over to death. % But gave their life over to the pestilence. Marg., their beasts to the murrain. The original will admit of either interpretation, but the connexion seems rather to demand the interpretation which is in the text. Both these things, however, occurred.

a shepherd to them. He defended them; provided for them; led them — as a shepherd does his flock. See Notes on Ps. xxiii. 1, 2.

53. And he led them on safely, so that they feared not. In hope; in confidence; so that they had no occasion for alarm. He showed himself able and willing to defend them. ^ But the sea overivhelmed their enemies. Marg., as in Heb., covered. See Ex. xiv.''27, 28; xv. 10.

54. And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary. The Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate render this, to the mountain of his holiness j tlie border of Lis sanctuary, even to this mountain, it'7u*c/i his right hand had purchased.

55 He cast out the heathen also before them, and divided I them an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.

56 Yet they tempted and pro- that is, his holy mountain. But the reference is rather to the whole land of Canaan. He brought them to the borders of that land — the land of promise — the holy land. They who came out from Egypt did not indeed enter that land, except Caleb and Joshua, but they were conveyed to its borders before all of them fell. It was true also that the people — the Hebrew people — came to the promised land, and secured its possession. ^ Even to this mountain. Mount Zion; for the object of the psalm was to show that the worship of God was properly celebrated there. See ver. 68. The meaning is not that the people who came out of Egypt actually inherited that mountain, but that their descendants — the people of God — had been put in possession of it. ^ Which his right hand had purchased. Had procured, or obtainecl possession of. That is, he had secured it by his power.

55. He cast out the heathen also before them. Literally, the nations. The idea of their being heathen, in the sense which is now attached to that word, is not in the original. The word is one which would be applied to any nation, without reference to its religion. These nations were, indeed, heathens according to the present use of that term, but that idea is not necessarily in the Hebrew word. ^ And divided them an inheritance ly line. Divided to his people an inheritance by a measurement of the land. That is, the land was partitioned out among the tribes, by a survey, fixing their limits and boundaries. See Joshua xiii. 7; xviii.;

voked the most high God, and kept not his testimonies;

57 But turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers: they were turned aside like a deceitful bow.

58 For '" they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their "■raven images.

xix. ^ And made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents. To dwell securely and quietly, no longer roaming from ])lace to place, but having a fixed habitation and a home.

56. Yet they tempted and provokedy etc. They tried the patience of God, and provoked him to anger after they were peaceably settled in the promised land. See Judges ii. 10-13. The object is to show that it was the character of the people that they were prone to depart from God. Comp. Notes on vers. 10, 11, 17, 40.

57. JBut turned back, etc. See Notes on ver. 41. 1[ They tvere turned aside like a deceitful boiv. Literally, a boio of deceit. That is, a bow that could not be depended on; a bow, one of whose arms was longer or more elastic than the other, so that the arrow would turn aside from the mark. The marksman would attempt to hit an object, and would fail. So it was with the people of Israel. They could not be depended on. No reliance could be put on their promises, their covenant-engagements, their attachment, their fidelity; for in these things they failed, as the arrow from a deceitful bow would fail to strike the mark. Their whole history shows how just was this charge; alas! the history of many of the professed people of God has shown how applicable the description has been to them also.

58. For they provoked him to anger tvitJi their high places. Places where idols were worshipped; usually on mountains or elevated places. Lev. xxvi. 30; comp. 1 Kings iil. 2; xii. 31, 32; 2 Kings xvii. 32; 2 Chron.

59 "WTien God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel:

60 So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men;

61 And delivered his strength

xxxiii. 17. ^ And moved him to jealousy. As one is when aflections due to himself are bestowed upon another, — as in the married life. ^ With their graven images. Their idols. Graven images are here put for idols in general.

59. When God heard this. Literally, " God heard;" that is, he understood this; he was acquainted with it. He heard their prayers addressed to false gods; he heard their praises sung in honour of idols. ^ He ivas tcroth. This is language taken from the common manner of speaking among men, for language derived from human conceptions and usages must be employed when we speak of God, though it may be difficult to say what is its exact meaning. The general sense is that his conduct towards them was as if he was angry; or was that which is used by a man who is displeased. ^ And greatly ahhorred Israel. The idea in the word rendered ahhorred is that of rejecting them with ahhorrence; that is, the reference is not merely to the internal feeling or emotion, but to the act which is tlie proper accompaniment of such an internal feeling. He cast them off; he treated them as not his own. The addition of the word *' greatly " shows how intense this feeling was; how decided was his aversion to their conduct.

60. So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh. The tabernacle or tent which had been erected at Shiloh. He forsook tliat as a place v/here he was to be worshipped; that is, he caused his tabernacle, or his place of worship, to be erected in another place, to wit, on Mount Zion. See ver. 68. The name Shiloh means properly a place of rest, and seems

into captivity, and his glory into the enemy's hand.

62 He " gave his people over also nnto the sword; and was wi'oth with his inheritance.

to have been given to this place as such a place, or as a place where the ark might abide after its migrations. Shiloh was a city within the limits of the tribe of Ephraim, on a mountain north of Bethel. Here tlie ark of God remained for many years after it came into the promised land. Josh, xviii. 1; Judges xviii. 31; xxi. 12, 19; 1 Sam. i. 3, 24; ii. 14; iv. 3, 4. The ark, after it was taken by the Philistines, was never returned to Shiloh, but was deposited successively at Nob (1 Sam. xxi. 1-G), and at Gibeon (1 Kings iii. 4), until David pitched a tabernacle for it on Mount Zion (1 Chron. xv. 1). The meaning here is, that in consequence of the sins of the people, the place of worship was finally and for ever removed from the tribe of Ephraim, within whose limits Shiloh was, to the tribe of Judah, and to Mount Zion. *lf The tent which he placed among men. It was the place which he selected as his abode on earth.

61. And delivered his strength into captivity. That is, the ark, considered as the symbol of his power. This constituted the defence of the people; this was the emblem of the presence of God, which, when with them, was their real protection. The allusion here is to the time when the ark was taken by the Philistines in the days of Eli. See 1 Sam. iv. 3-11. *^ And his glory. That which was emblematic of his glory, to wit, the ark. ^ Into the enemy's hand. The hand or power of the Philistines.

62. He gave his people over also unto the sivord. When the ark was taken, 1 Sam. iv. 10. Thirty thousand of the children of Israel fell on that occasion. ^ And tvas xvroth xvith his inheritance. Was angry with his

63 Tlie fire consumed their young men; and their maidens were not ' given to marriage.

t)4 Their priests fell by the sword: and their widows made no lamentation.

65 Then the Lord awaked " as one out of sleep, and like a

people, considered as his inheritance; that is, considered as his own pecuHar people, or his possession.

G3. The fire consumed their young men. Fire here may be regarded as an image of destructive war, as in Num. xxi. 28: " For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon: it liath consumed Ar of Moab/' etc. The idea here is, that the young men had been cut oiF in war. % And their maidens ioere not given to marriage. As the young men who would have entered into this relation were cut off in war. The margin here is praised; — " The maidens were not praised." This is in accordance with the Hebrew. The idea is, " Their virgins were not praised in nuptial songs;" that is, there were no marriage celebrations; no songs such as were usually composed on such occasions in praise of those who were brides. The Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate render this much less accurately, and much less beautifully, xcere not lamented.

64. Their priests fell hy the sword. Comp. 1 Sara. iv. 11. It was considered a special calamity that the ministers of religion wei'e cut down in war. ^ And their widoios made no lamentation. That is, the public troubles were so great, the danger was still so imminent, the calamities thickened so fast, that there was no opportunity for public mourning by formal processions of women, and loud lamentations, such as were usual on these occasions. See Notes on Job xxvii. 15. The meaning is not that there was a want of atiection or attachment on the part of the friends of the slain, or that there was no real mighty man, v that shouteth by reason of wine.

ij^ And he smote his enemies in the hinder part; he put them to a perpetual reproach.

67 Moreover, he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and « chose not the tribe of Ephraim;

grief, but that there was no opportunity for displaying it in the customary manner.

65. Then, the Lord awaked as one out of sleep. Literally, as one sleeping; that is, as one who is asleep suddenly arouses himself. The Lord seemed to have slept, or to have been inattentive to what was occurring. Suddenly he aroused himself to inflict vengeance on the enemies of his people. Comp. Notes on Ps. vii. 6; xliv. 23. TT And like a mighty man. The allusion is probably to a warrior. % That shouteth hy reason of loine. The proper idea here is that of singing, or lifting up the voice in exultation and rejoicing; — the idea of a man who sings and shouts as he is excited by wine, and as he presses onward to conflict and to victory. It is not uncommon in the Scriptures to compare God, as he goes forth to accomplish his purposes on his enemies, with a warrior. See Ex. xv. 3; Ps. xxiv. 8.

66. And he smote his enemies in the hinder part. From behind; that is, as they fled. There are two ideas here: — one, that they fled at his approach, or turned their backs; the other, that as they fled, he smote and destroyed them. ^ He put them to a perpetual reproach. As discomfited; as defeated and scattered; as unable to contend with him. The allusion is, probably, to the victories of David, occurring after the events related in the preceding verses.

67. Moreover, he refused the tahernacle of Joseph. As a place where his worship should be celebrated. This is the completion of the statement in ver. 60. The design is to

68 But chose the tribe of Judah, '■ the Mount Zion, * which he loved.

69 And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which he hath ^ established for

show that there had been a transfer of the pre-eminence from the tribe of Ephrahn to the tribe of Judah, and from Shiloh to Zion. Joseph is here mentioned as the father of Ephraim, from whom one of the trit)es — (one of the most influential and numerous) — was named. Jacob had twelve sons, from whom the twelve tribes in general took their name. As the tribe of Levi, however, being devoted to the sacerdotal work, was not reckoned as one of the twelve, the number was made up by giving to the descendants of the two sons of Joseph — Ephraim and Manasseh (Gen. xlviii. 5) — a place atnong the tribes; and, on this account, the name Joseph does not appear as one of the twelve tribes. Yet Joseph is mentioned here, as the ancestor of one of them — that of Ephraim, from whom the priority and supremacy were withdrawn in fovour of the tribe of Judah. ^ And chose not the tribe of Ephraim. To be the tribe within whose limits the tabernacle should be permanently set up; or within whose limits the place of public worship was finally to be established.

68. £ut chose the tribe of Judah. He chose David of the tribe of Judah as ruler and king; he chose a place within the limits of Judah, to wit, Mount Zion, or Jerusalem, as the place where his worship was to be celebrated. Thus, the ancient prediction in regard to the supremacy of Judah was accomplished. Gen. xlix. 8-10. ^ The 3Iount Zion, which he loved. Which he chose; ibr which lie had an affection. Comp. Ps. Ixxxvii. 2.

70 He chose David ' also his servant, and took him from the sheep-folds:

71 From 2 following the ewes great with young, he brought him to feed " Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.

nacle. The temple was not then built; and, when reared, it was not on Mount Zion, but on Mount Moriah. The name Zion, however, was often given to the whole city. ^ LiJce high palaces. The word ^a/ace,? is not in the original. The Hebrew means simply high pi aces, like hills or mountains. The meaning is, that his sanctuary was exalted, as if it were placed on a high hill. It was a conspicuous object; it could be seen from afar; it was the most prominent thing in the land. See Notes on Isa. ii. 2. ^ LiJce the earth. Permanent and established. ^ Which he hath established for ever. Marg., as in Heb., founded. The earth is often represented as founded or established on a solid basis, and thus becomes an emblem of stability and perpetuity.

70. He chose David also his servant. He chose him that he might set him over his people as their king. The idea is, that David was selected when he had no natural pretensions to the office, as he did not pertain to a royal fi\mily, and could have no claim to such a distinction. The account of this choice is contained in 1 Sam. XV. 1-30. *![ And took him from the sheepfolds. From the humble occupation of a shepherd. 1 Sam. xvi. 11; 2 Sam. vii. 8.

71. From folloiving the eives great with young. Marg., as in Heb., From after. The meaning is, that he followed after them; that is, he attended them, or watched over them as a shepherd. The single word rendered the eices great ivith young — T^Tp, aloth — is a participle from n^i? (alah), to ascend, to go up; and then, to bring up, to nourish. The exact idea here is doubtless that of bringing

72 So lie fed tliein according to the integrity '• of his heart, and guided them by the skilfulness of his hiinds.

up, or of s^icJcUng tliem, and the word should have been so translated here. It is so rendered by Luther. The idea in our translation has been derived from the Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate. The meaning is, that he brought him from being a shepherd to be the ruler of his people — expressed still in the language of a shepherd life. ^ To feed Jacob his people. Rather, to be a shepherd to them; to perform towards them the office of a shepherd, including the ideas of governing them, providing for them, and defending them. See Notes on Ps. xxiii. 1, 2.

72. So he fed them. He performed towards them the office of a shepherd. ^ According to the integrity of his heart. Literally, "According to the perfection of his heart." That is, he was upright and pure in the administration of his government. ^ And guided them by the skifulness of his hands. Literally, "by the understanding of his hands'" — as if the hand had been endued with intelligence. Comp. Ps. cxliv. 1: " Which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight." See also Ps. cxxxvii. 5. The idea is, that he administered the government with integrity and uprightness. This is a beautiful tribute to the integrity and purity of the administration of David. It is not the language of flattery; it is a simple statement, flowing from the heart, in favour of a just and upright administration; and it is a true statement of what the administration of David was. Save in the matter of Uriah — over which he afterwards wept so bitterly, — his administration •was eminently just, pure, impartial, wise, and benignant; probably none among men have been more so. The whole psalm is thus a beautiful argument showing why the government

Q GOD, the heathen '" are come into thine inheritance; thy

had been transferred from Ephraim to Judah, and why it had been placed in the hands of David.

Tliis psalm, also, purports to be a psalm of Asaph; that is, it was cither composed by him or for him; or it was the composition of one of his descendants who presided over the music in the sanctuary, and to Avhom was given the general family name, Asaph. The psalm pertains to the same general subject as Ps. Ixxiv., and was composed evidently in view of the same calamities. Eiidingcr, De AYette, and some others, suppose that the reference in the psalm is to the persecutions under Antiochus Epiphanes. To this opinion, also, Rosenmiiller mclincs. The most common, and the most probable supposition, however, is that it refers to the destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans, lows: — I. A statement of the calamity which had come upon the nation. The heathen had come into the heritage of God; they had defiled the sanctuaiy; they had made Jerusalem desolate; they had murdered the inhabitants; and the nation had become a reproach before the Avorld, vers. 1-4. II. A prayer for the Divine interposition, vers. 5, 6. III. Reasons for that prayer, or reasons why God shoidd interpose in the case, vers. 7-13. These reasons are, {a) that they had devoured Jacob, ver. 7; lb) that the people, on account of their sins, had been brought very low, ver. 8; {c) that the Divine glory was at stake, vers. 9, 10; {(T) that they were in a suffering and pitiable condition, many being held as captives, and many ready to die, ver. 11: (<?) that justice denj^ndcd this, ver. 12; and (/) that this interposition would lay the foundation for praise to God,

1. O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance. The nations; a foreign people. See Notes on Ps. ii. 1, 8; Ixxviii. 55. The term is one that would be applicable to the

« lioly temple have they defiled; they y have laid Jerusalem on heaps.

2 The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to he meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth.

3 Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusa-

4 We are become a reproach " to our neighbours, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us.

5 How long, Lord? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy * bum like fire?

6 Pour ^ out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known

Chaldeans, or Babylonians, and the probable allusion here is to their invasion of the Holy Land under Nebuchadnezzar. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 17-21. % Thy holy temple have they defiled. They have polluted it. By entering it; by removing the sacred furniture; by cutting down the carved work; by making it desolate. See 2 Chron. xxxvi. 17, 18. Comp. Notes on Ps. Ixxiv. 5-7. 1[ They have laid Jerusalem on heaps. See 2 Chron. xxxvi. 19: "And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof."

2. The dead bodies of thy servants, etc. They have slain them, and left them unburied. See 2 Chron. xxxvi. 17. This is a description of wide-spread carnage and slaughter, such as we know occurred at the time when Jerusalem was taken by the Chaldeans. At such a time, it is not probable that the Chaldeans would pause to bury the slain, nor is it probable that they would give opportunity to the captive Hebrews to remain to bury them. That would occur, therefore, which often occurs in war, that the slain would be left on the field to be devoured by wild animals and by the fowls of heaven.

3. Their hlood have they shed like icater round about Jerusalem. They have poured it out in such quantities that it seems to flow like water — not an uncommon occurrence in war. There was no event in the history of the Hebrews to which this description would be more applicable than to the Babylonian invasion. The language might indeed be applicable to the desolation of the city by Antiochus Epiphanes, and also to its destruction by the Romans; but, of course, it cannot refer to the latter, and there is no necessity for supposing that it refers to the former. All the conditions of a proper interpretation are fulfilled by supposing that it refers to the time of the Chaldean invasion, ^ And there was none to bury them. The Chaldeans would not do it, and they would not suffer the Hebrew people to do it.

4. We are become a reproach to our neighbours. See the language in this verse explained in the Notes on Ps. xliv. 13. The words in the Hebrew are the same, and the one seems to have been copied from the other.

5. Koiv long, Loed? See Notes on Ps. Ixxiv. 1, 10, and Ps. Ixxvii. 7-9. This is the language, not of impatience, but of anxiety; not of murmuring, but of wonder. It is language such as the people of God are often constrained to employ under heavy trials, — trials which continue so long that it seems as if they would never end. 1[ Shall thy jealousy burn like fire? That is. Shall it continue to burn like fire? Shall it utterly consume us? On the word jealousy, see Notes on Ps. Ixxviii. 58.

6. Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen. Punish, as they deserve, the nations that have risen up against thy people, and that have brought desolation upon the land. The word thee, and upon tlie kingdoms that have not called upon thy name.

7 For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his dwellingplace.

rendered here pour out is used with reference to a cup or vial, as containing a mixture for the people to drink, — of intoxication, or of poison. See Notes on Rev. xvi. 1; Ps. xi. 6; Isa. li. 17; conip. Jer. xxv. 15, 17; Matt. XX. 22; xxvi. 39, 42. ^ That have not knoion thee. Who are strangers to thee; who are thy enemies. The prayer that the wrath of God might he poured upon them was not because they were ignorant of him, but on account of their wicked conduct toward the people of God. The phrase " that have not known thee " is used merely to designate them, or to describe their character. The prayer is not necessarily a prayer for vengeance, or in the spirit of revenge; it is simply a prayer that justice might be done to them, and is such a prayer as any man may offer who is anxious tliat justice may be done in the world. See remarks on the imprecations in the Psalms. General Introd. § 6. It is not proper, however, to use this as a proof-text that God icill punish the "heathen," or will consign them to destruction. The passage obviously has no reference to such a doctrine, whether that doctrine be true or false. ^ And upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name. The people that do not worship thee; referring here particularly to those who had invaded the land, and made it desolate.

7. For theif have devoured Jacob. Literally, " They have eaten." That is, they have eaten up what the land produced. ^ And laid waste his dwelling-place. His home; his habitation; the residence of Jacob, or of the people of Israel.

us ' former iniquities: let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us; for we arc brought vei*y * low.

9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name;

mer iniquities. J\Iarg., The iniquities of them that ivere before us. The Hebrew may mean e\ther for mer times^ or former generations. The allusion, however, is substantially the same. It is not their own iniquities which are particularly referred to, but the iniquity of the nation as committed in former times; and the prayer is, that God would not vi^it them with the results of the sins of former generations, though their own ancestors. The language is derived from the idea so constantly affirmed in the Scripture, and so often illustrated in fact, that the effects of sin pass over from one generation to the next, and involve it in calamity. See Exod. XX. 5; xxxiv. 7; Lev. xx. 5; xxvi. 39; 40; Num. xiv. 18, 33; comp. Notes on Rom. v. 12, et seq. ^ Let thy teiider mercies speedily irrevent us. Literally, " Hasten; let thy tender mercies anticipate us." The word prevent here, as elsewhere in the Scriptures, does not mean to hinder, as with us, but to go before; to anticipate. See Notes on Job iii. 12; Ps. xvii. 13; xxi. 3; Isa. xxi. 14; Matt. xvii. 25; 1 Thess. iv. 15. The prayer here is, that God, in his tender mercy or compassion, would anticipate their ruin; would interpose before matters had gone so far as to make their destruction inevitable. ^ For tee are brought very loio. The idea in the original word is that of being p>^^^d.U' lous, or hanging down — as vines do, or as anything does that is wilted, or withered, or as the hands do when one is weak, faint, or sick. Then it refers to a failure or exhaustion of strength; and the idea here is that their strength as a nation was exhausted.

and deliver iis, and purge away our sins, for tliy name's sake.

10 Wherefore should the heathen say, "Where is then- God? let him be known among the heathen in our sight, by the ' revenging of the blood of thy ser-

11 Let / the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of 2 thy power 3 preserve thou those that are appointed to die:

tion. On whom our salvation depends; who alone can ^ave us. ^ For the glory of thy name. That thy name may be honoured. We are thy professed people; we have been redeemed by thee; and thine honour will be alfected by the question whether we are saved or destroyed. It is the highest and purest ground for prayer, that the glory or honour of God may be promoted. See Notes on Matt. vi. 9, 13; John xii. 28; Dan. ix. 19. % And deliver us. From our enemies. ^ And purge away our sins. Forgive our sins, or cleanse us from them. The original word is that which is commonly used to denote an atonement. Comp. in the Hebrew, Dan. ix. 24; Ezek. xlv. 20; Ex. xxx. 15; xxxii. 30; Lev. iv. 20; v. 26; xvi. 6, 11, 24. % For thy name's sake. See Notes on Dan. ix. 19.

10. Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? The nations. Why should such a course of forbearance towaixls them be pursued as to lead them to ask the question whether God is able to punish them, or to come to the conclusion that he is not the God of those who profess to worship him. See Notes on Ps. xlii. 3, 10. *^ Let him heJcnoion among the heathen. Let him so manifest himself among them that they cannot but see that he is God; that he is a just God; that he is the Friend and Protector of his people. % In our sight. So that ^ce may see it; or, so that it may be seen that he is our Friend and Protector. ^ By the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed. Marg,, vengeance. The true idea is, " Let the avenging of the blood of thy servants — the blood poured out [or shed] be known among the nations in our sight." The prayer is that God would so interpose that there could be no doubt that it was on account of the blood of his people which had been shed by their enemies. It is a prayer that just punishment might be executed,— a prayer which may be offered at any time.

11. Let the.'Sighing of the prisoner come before thee. The sighing of him who is bound. The allusion here is, doubtless, to those among the Hebrews who had been taken captives, and who " sighed " not only on account of the suff'erings which they endured in their bondage, but because they had been taken from their country and home. The meaning is, " Hear those sighs, and come for the deliverance of those who are thus held in captivity." ^ According to the greatness of thy power. Marg., as in Heb., thine arm. The arm is the symbol of power. It is implied here that great power was needful to deliver those who were held in captivity, — power such as God only coultl exert, — power which could be wielded only by an Omnipotent Being. It was the power of God only which could rescue them, as it is only by the power of God that sinners can be saved. ^ Preserve thou those that are appointed to die. Marg., Beserve the children of death. The literal meaning is, " Let remain the sons of death;" that is, Preserve those who are in such circumstances that death is impending, and who may be called the sons of death. This might apply to ■ those who were condemned to death; or, to those who were sick and in danger of death; or to those who were prisoners and captives, and who were, by their sufferings, exposed to death. The prayer is that such

12 And render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, a wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord.

13 So we thy people, and sheep

of thy pasture, will give thee thanks for ever; we will shew '•forth thy praise to ^ all generations.

might be suffered to remain on the earth; that is, that thej* might be kept alive.

12. And render unto our neighhoiirs. That is, the neighbours who had reproached them; the surrounding people who had seen these calamities come upon them, and who had regarded these calamities as proof that their God was unable to protect them, or that they were suffering under his displeasure. See Notes on ver. 4. ^ Sevenfold. Seven times the amount of reproach which they have heaped upon us. The word seven is often used to denote mmiy, as seven was one of the perfect numbers. The idea is that of complete or full vengeance. Comp. Gen. iv. 15, 21; Prov. vi. 31; Isa. XXX. 26; Matt, xviii. 21, 22; Luke xvii. 4. ^ Into their hosoni, etc. Perhaps the allusion here is to the custom of carrying things in the bosom of the flowing dress as it was girded around the loins. " Let them be made to carry tvith them seven times the amount of reproach which they have endeavoured to heap on us."

13. So ive thy people, and sheep of thy pasture. See Notes on Ps. Ixxiv. 1. 1[ Will give thee thanks for ever. Will praise thee always; will acknowledge thee as our God, and will evermore render thee thanksgiving. ^ We tvill shew forth thy praise to all generations. Marg., as in Heb., to generation and generation. That is. We will make arrangements that the memory of these gracious acts shall be transmitted to future times; to distant generations. This was done by the permanent record, made in the Scriptures, of these gracious interpositions of God, and by their being carefully preserved by each generation to whom they came.

No work has been more faithfully done than that by which the records of God's ancient dealings with his people have been preserved from age to age, — that by which the sacred Scriptures have been guarded against error, and handed down from one generation to another.

This very toucliing and beautiful psalm purports also to be a psalm of Asaph. Comp. Notes on the title to Psalm Ixxiii. On the phrase "upon Shoshannim-eduth" in the title, see Notes on the titles to Ps. xlv. and Ps. Ix. The word rendered eduth, which means testimony, may have been used here with reference to the contents of the psalm as a public testimony in regard to the dealings of God with his people. But it is not possible now to determine with certainty the meaning of these titles.

The psalm, in its design, has a strong resemblance to Ps. Ixxiv. and Ps. Ixxix., and was probably composed on the same occasion. It has been generally supposed to have reference to the time of the Babylonish captivity. Some have refen-ed it, however, to the time of Antiochus Epiphanes; and others regard it as a prayer of the ten tribes which had been carried away to Assjria. Doederlein supposes that it refers to the wars of Jehoshaphat with the Ammonites (2 Chron. xx.); and others suppose that it refers to the troubles caused by the Philistines. It is impossible now to determine with certainty the time or the occasion of its composition. It can be best explained on tne supposition that it refers to the desolations caused by the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar.

The psalm is properly divided into three parts, each closing with the prayer " Turn us again, 0 God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved," vers. 3, 7, 19.

To the chief Musician upon Shosliannimeduth. i A Psalm i of Asaph.

GIVE ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest ^ Joseph like a flock: i thou that dwellest hehveen the cherubims, shine "' forth.

2 Before " Ephraim, and Benjamin, and Manasseh, stir up thy

led his people like a flock — that he would again shine forth on them now that they were in trouble, and that he would stir up his strength, and come and save them,

II. The second is a prayer^ also, — founded on the troubles of his people; a people fed with their tears; a strife to their neighbours; and an occasion of laughter or mirth to their foes, vers.

III. The third is also a prayer, — founded on the former dealings of God Avitli his people, on his care for them in ancient times, and on the fact that they Avere now desolate; — their state being represented under the image of a vine brought from abroad; planted with care; attentively nurtured until it sent out its branches in every dhection, so that it filled the land; and then bi'oken do\vn — torn — rent — trampled on — by a wild boar out of the wood, vers. 8-19. In view of this desolation the psalmist prays that God would interpose, and he pledges the assurance that if this wei'e done for them, the people would no more go back from God.

1. Give ear. Incline the ear; as if the ear of God was then turned away, or as if he was inattentive to what was occurring. See Notes on Ps. v. 1. ^ O Shepherd of Israel. See Notes on Ps. xxiii. 1. ^ Thou that leadest Joseph like aflocTc. Joseph, the father of Ephraim and Manasseh. See Notes on Ps. Ixxviii. 67. The name Joseph seems here to be used poetically to represent the whole people of Israel, as he was a man so prominent in their history, and especially as Egypt is mentioned as the country from which the vine had been transplanted, — a country where Joseph had acted so important a part, and in connexion with which his name would be so naturally associated. The meaning is, that God had led the tribes of the Hebrew people as a shepherd leads or conducts his flock. •[[ Thou that dwellest between the cherubims. See Notes on Ps. xviii. 10. The allusion here is to God as dwelling, by a visible symbol — the Sheclunah — on the mercy-seat, between the cherubims. Ex. XXV. 18, 22; xxxvii. 7; 1 Sam. iv. 4j 1 Kings vi. 25. See Notes on Isa. xxxvii. 16; and Heb. ix. 5. % Shine forth. Manifest thyself. Let light come from thy presence in the midst of our darkness and calamity.

2. Before Ephraim, and Benjamin, and Manasseh. Ephraim and 5lanasseh were the two sons of Joseph, and their names were given to two of the tribes of Israel. See Notes on Ps. Ixxviii. 67. They seem to have been particularly mentioned here, because Joseph, their father, had been referred to in the previous verse; and it was natural, in speaking of the pfeople, to mention his sons. Benjamin is mentioned because, in the encampment and march through the wilderness, these three tribes always went together, as the descendants of the same mother. Gen. xlvi. 19, 20; Num. ii. 18-2^; X. 22-24. It is probable that they were always peculiarly united in the great operations of the Hebrew people, and that when one was mentioned it was customary to mention the others, as being of the same family, or descended from the same mother. There does not appear, from the psalm itself, any particular reason why the prayer is offered that God would manifest himself especially to these three tribes; and nothing in regard to the occasion on which the psalm was composed, can be argued from the fact that they are thus mentioned. Hengstenberg indeed supposes that the common idea that the tribe of Benjamin adhered to Judah in the revolt of the strength, and come ^ and save ten tribes is erroneous, and that Benjamin was one of the ten tribes which revolted; and that Simeon was not inchuled in the number because he had no separate territory, but only certain towns and places within the limits of the tribe of Judah. Prof. Alexander, embracing this opinion, supposes that the psahn refers to the calamities which cume upon the ten tribes at the time of their captivity. But this supposition seems to me to be improbable. The obvious and fair interpretation of the narrative on the subject is, that the tribe of Benjamin adhered to that of Judah at the time of the revolt, for it is said (1 Kings xii. 21) that "when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, ivith the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon." Besides, even on the supposition that Benjamin was one of the ten revolted tribes, the fact that these three tribes are particularly mentioned together would not prove that the psalm referred to the carrying away of the ten tribes into Assyria, for still the question would arise why these are particularly mentioned rather than any other of the ten. It seems to me, therefore, that the fact that these are specified can be explained on the suppositions above suggested: (a) That the main reference in the psalm was to the coming out of Egypt — the bringing the "vine" — that is, the people -=- from that land (ver. 8); \b) That in alluding to that, it was natural to make mention of Joseph, who was so distinguished there, and who, after so many trials, was exalted to so great honour that his name might be given to the whole people; (c) That when Joseph had been spoken

cause thy face *' to shine; and we shall be saved.

of, it was natural, in the progress of the psalm, to mention particularly the names of his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh; and (rf) that having mentioned them, it was natural also to refer to one whose name was always associated with that of Joseph as his younger brother by the same mother, and to the tribe of that name which was always associated with Ephraim and Manasseh in the march, I regard the psalm, therefore, as referring to the entire Hebrew people, and the names of these three tribes as representatives of the whole nation. The prayer is, that God would manifest himself in the presence of his people. ^ Stir 2(p thy strength. As if he were indifierent to their condition; as if he put forth no effort to save them. See Notes on Ps. xxxv. 23. •[[ And come and save t(s. Marg., as in Heb., come for salvation to us. That is. Come and deliver us from our enemies and our dangers.

3. Turn us again. This phrase in our translation would seem to mean, " Turn us again from our sins," — or, " Bring us back to our duty, and to thy love;" and this idea is commonly attached to the phrase probably by the readers of the Bible. But this, though in itself an appropriate prayer, is not the idea here. It is simply. Bring us hack; cause us to return; restore us. The idea thus suggested would be either (a) Kestore us to our former state of prosperity; that is. Cause these desolations to cease; or (b) Bring us back, as from captivity, to our own land; rest(3i-e us to our country and our homes, from which we have been driven out. Thus understood, it would be properly the language of those who were in captivity or exile, praying that they might be restored again to their own land. % And cause thy face to shine. Be favourable or propitious to us.

4 O Lord God of hosts, how long wilt thou ^ be angry against the prayer of thy people?

5 Thou feedest them with the « bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure.

Let the frown on thy countenance disappear. See Notes on Ps. iv. 6. ^ And we shall he saved. Saved from our dangers; saved from our troubles. It is also true that when God causes his face to shine upon us, we shall be saved from our sins; saved from ruin. It is only by his smile and favour that we can be saved in any sense, or from any danger.

4. O LoED God of hosts. Jehovah, God of armies. That is either (a) the God who rules among the hosts of heaven — the inhabitants of that holy world; or (5) God of the hosts of the sky — the worlds above — the stars, that seem marshalled as hosts or armies, and that are led forth each night with such order and grandeur; or (c) God of the hosts on earth — the armies that are mustered for war. The phrase is one which is often applied to God. See Notes on Ps. xxiv. 10; and on Isa. i. 24. % Hoio long wilt thou be angry. Marg., as in Heb., wilt thou smoke. The allusion is derived from the comparison of anger with fire. See Notes on Ps. Ixxiv. 1. ^ Against the prayer of thy people. That is, Thou dost not answer their prayer; thou seemest to be angry against them even when they pray; or in the act of calling upon thee. The earnest inquiry here is, how long this was to continue. It seemed as if it would never end. Comp. Notes on Ps. Ixxvii. 7-9.

5. Thou feedest them tcith the bread of tears. Literally, "Thou causest them to eat the bread of tears," or of weeping. That is, their food was accompanied with tears; even when they ate, they wept. Their tears seemed to moisten their bread, they flowed so copiously. See Notes on

6 Thou *■ makest us a strife unto our neighbours; and our enemies laugh among themselves.

7 Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

Ps. xlii. 3. ^ And givest them tears to drink. So abundant were their tears that they might constitute their very drink, •f In great measure. Or rather by measure; that is, abundantly. The word here rendered great measure — TJi'^blD, shalish — means propei'ly a third, and is usually applied to a measure for grain — a third part of another measure — as, the third part of an ephah. See Notes on Isa. xl. 12. Then the word is used for any measui'e, perhaps because this was the most common measure in use. The idea seems to be, not so much that God gave tears to them in great measure, but that be measured them out to them, as one measures drink to others; that is, the cup, or cask, or bottle in which their drink was served to them was as if filled with tears only.

6. Thou makest us a strife. An occasion of strife or wrangling; that is, of strife among themselves, to see who will get the most of our spoils; or of contention, to see which could do most to aggravate their suff*erings, and to bring disgrace and contempt upon them. They were emulous with each other in the work of desolation and ruin., ^ Unto our neighbours. The surrounding nations. See Ps. Ixxix. 4. ^ And our enemies laugh among themselves. Over our calamities. They exult; they glory; they triumph in our ruin.

7. Turn us again, O God of hosts, etc. This verse is the same as ver. 3, except that here the appeal is to the " God of hosts;" there, it is simply to " God." This indicates greater earnestness; a deeper sense of the need of the interposition of God, indicated by the reference to his attri-

8 Thou hast brought a vine » out of Egypt; thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it.

9 Tliou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land.

10 The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs

8. Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt. Kefcrring to his people, under the image (which often occurs in the Scriptures) of a vine or vineyard. See Notes on Isa. v. 1-7. Comp. Jer. h. 21; Ezek. XV. 6; Matt. xx. 1; xxi. 28, 33; Luke xiii. 6. If Thou hast east out the heathen. The nations; to wit, the nations that occupied the land of Canaan before the children of Israel dwelt there. See Notes on Ps. ii. 1, 8; Ixxvii. 55. ^ And planted it. Thou hast established thy people there as one plants a vine in a field. See Ps. xliv. 2.

9. Thou preparedst room before it. The Hebrew word here used means properly to turn; to turn the back; then, to turn in ordej to look at anything; to look upon; to see; then, in Piel, to cause to turn away; to remove. Then it comes to mean to remove, or to clear from impediments so as to prepare a way (Isa. xl. 3; Ivii. 14; Ixii. 10; Mai. iii. 1), and hence to remove the impediments to planting a vine, etc.; to wit, by clearing away the trees, brush, stones, etc. Comp. Isa. V. 2. Here it means that the hindrances in planting the vine were taken out of the way; that is, God removed the heathen so that there was room then to establish his own people. IT And didst cause it to take deep root. Heb., "And didst cause it to root roots;" that is. Its roots struck deep into the soil, and the plant became firm. ^ And it filled the land. Its branches ran everywhere, so as to fill the whole land. See Notes on Isa. xvi. 8.

11 She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river.

12 Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that ' all they which pass by the way do pluck her?

10. TJie hills tcere covered ivith the shadow of it. That is. It made a shade, by its luxuriant foliage, on the hills in every part of the land; it seemed to cover all the hills. Tf And the houghs thereof were like the goodly cedars. Marg., as in Heb., cedars of God; that is, lofty, majestic cedars. See Notes on Ps. Ixv. 9. The reference here is to the cedars of Lebanon, among the most majestic objects known to the Hebrews.

11. She sent out her houghs unto the sea. To the Mediterranean Sea on the one side. ^ And her branches. Her sucklings. The word is usually applied to little children, and means here the little branches that are nourished by the parent vine. ^ Unto the river. The Euphrates, for so the Wt'er usually means in the Scriptures. The Euphrates on the one side, and the Mediterranean Sea on the other, were the natural and propes boundaries of the country as promised to Abraham. See Ps. Ixxii. 8; 1 Kings iv. 21. Comp. Notes on Ps. Ix.

12. Why hast thou then broken doivn her hedges? Why hast thou dealt with thy people as one would with a vineyard who should break down all its enclosures, and leave it open to wild beasts? The word rendered hedges means wall or ej^closure. Comp. Notes on Isa. v. 2. •[[ So that all they ivhich pass by the way. All travellers; or, wild beasts. Sothatthere is nothing to prevent their coming up to the vine and plucking the grapes. % Do pluck her. Pluck, or pick off the grapes; or, if the phrase "all which pass by the way " denotes wild beasts, then the meaning is, that they

13 The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it.

14 Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look " down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine;

15 And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the *' branch that thou madest strong for thyself.

16 It is burned with fire; it is cut down: they perish '^ at the rebuke of thy countenance.

13. The boar out of the ivood. Men come in and ravage the land, whose character may he compared with the wild boar. The word rendered hoar means simply swine. The addition of the phrase " out of the wood " determines its meaning here, and shows that the reference is to wild or untamed swine; swine that roam the woods, — an animal always extremely fierce and savage. ^ Doth tvaste it. The word here used occurs nowhere else. It means to cut down or cut off; to devour; to lay waste. ^ And the ivild beast of the field. Of the uninclosed field; or^ that roams at large, — such as lions, panthers, tigers, wolves. The word here used — y^^ ziz — occurs besides only in Ps. 1. 11; and Isa. Ixvi. 11. In Isa. Ixvi. 11, it is rendered abundance. ^ Doth devour it. So the people from abroad consumed all that the land produced, or thus they laid it waste.

14. Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts. Again come and visit thy people; come back again to thy forsaken land. This is language founded on the idea that God had withdrawn from the land, or had forsaken it; that he had left his people without a protector, and had left them exposed to the ravages of fierce foreign enemies. It is language which will describe \vhat seems often to occur when the church is apparently forsaken; when there are no cheering tokens of the Divine presence; and when the people of God, discouraged, see^n themselves to be forsaken by him. Comp. Jer. xiv. 8. ^ LooJc doivn from heaven. The habitation of God.

As if he did not now see his desolate vineyard, or regard it. The idea is, that if he would look upon it, he would pity it, and would come to its relief. ^ And behold, and visit this vine. It is a visitation of mercy and not of wrath that is asked; the coming of one who is able to save, and without whose coming there could be no deliverance.

15. And the vineyard, Qic. Gesenius renders this as a verb: ^'^ Protect " that is, " Protect or defend what thy right hand hath planted." So the Septuagint renders it KaraoTiaai — and the Vulgate, perfice, — fit, prepare, order. Prof. Alexander renders it sustain. De Wette, " Guard what thy right hand hath planted." This is doubtless the true idea. It is a prayer that God would guard, sustain, defend what he had planted; to wit, the vine which he had brought out of Egypt, ver. 8. ^ A^id the branch. Literally, the 9on; that is, the offspring or shoots of the vine. Not merely the original plant — the parent stock — but all the branches which had sprung from it, and which had spread themselves over the land. ^ That thou madest strong for thyself. Thou didst cause it to grow so vigorously for thine own use or honour. On that account, we now call on thee to defend what is thine own.

16. It is burned idthfire. That is, the vineyard. This is a description of the desolations that had come upon the nation, such as looidd come upon a vineyard if it were consumed by fire. •[[ It is cut doivn. It has been made desolate by fire and by the axe. ^ They 2J€rish at the rebuke of thy countenance. At the frown on thy face, — as if God has only to look upon men in anger, and they perish.

17 Let thy hand ^ be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the sou of man iclioni thou madest strong for thyself.

18 So will not we go back from

thee: quicken v us, and we will call upon thy name.

19 Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.

The word thei/ refers to those who were represented by the vhie wliicli Imd been brongbt out of Egypt — the people of the land.

17. Let ihy hand he upon the man of thy right hand. Lutber renders this, " Let tby band guard the folks of tby right band, and the people whom tbou bast powerfully chosen." Tbe right band is the place of honour; and tbe phrase " tbe man of tby right hand " means one who occupies such a position of honour. The phrase " Let tby band be upon " is ambiguous. It may denote either favour or wrath; — let it be upon liim either to protect him, or to punish him. Tbe connexion, however, evidently demands tbe former interpretation, for it is in reference to the "man whom God bad made strong for himself." Tbe allusion is either {a) to some individual man whom God had raised up to honour, as a prince or ruler of tbe people; or {h) to tbe people as sucb, — as Lutber understands it. Most probably tbe former is tbe correct interpretation; and tbe prayer is, that God would interpose in behalf of tbe ruler of tbe people — tbe king of tbe nation — whom be bad exalted to so high honour, and wbom be bad placed in sucb a position of responsibility; that be would now endow him properly for bis work; that he would give him wisdom in counsel, and valour in battle, in order that tbe nation might be delivered from its foes. It is, therefore, a prayer for tbe civil and military ruler of tbe land, that God would give him grace, firmness, and wisdom, in a time of great emergency. Prof. Alexander strangely supposes that this refers to tbe Messiab. % Upon the son of man. Tbis means simply man, tbe language being varied for the sake of poetry. Comp. Notes on Ps. viii. 4. It is true that tbe appellation *' tbe Son of man " was a favourite designation which tbe Lord Jesus applied to himself to denote that he was truly a man, and to indicate bis connexion with human nature; but tbe phrase is often used merely to denote a man. Here it refers to the king or civil ruler. ^ "Whom thou madest strong for thyself. The man wbom tbou bast raised up to that exalted station, and wbom tbou hast endowed to do a work for thee in that station. A magistrate is a servant and a representative of God, appointed to do a work for him — not for himself. See Rom. xiii. 1-6.

18. So will not tee go back from thee, 'ibat is, if tbou wilt thus interpose; if thou wilt deliver tbe nation; if thou wilt help him whom thou bast placed over it, giving him wisdom and valour, we will hereafter be obedient to tby law; we will not apostatize from thee. It is a solemn promise or pledge of future obedience made by tbe psalmist as expressing the purpose of tbe people if God would be merciful and would withdraw bis judgments; a pledge proper in itself, and often made by tbe Hebrew people only to be disregarded; a pledge proper for all who are in affliction, and often made in sucb circumstances, but, as in tbe case of tbe Hebrews, often made only to be forgotten. % Quicken us. Literally, Give us life. See Notes on Epb. ii. 1. Restore life to us as a people; save us from ruin, and reanimate us with tby presence. ^ And we ivill call upon thy name. We will worsbiptbee; we will be faithful in serving thee.

19. Turn us again, O LoED God of hosts, etc. See Notes on vers. 3, 7, 14. This is tbe sum and tbe burden of the psalm. The repetition of the prayer shows the earnestness of the people, and their conviction that their only Jiope in their troubles was that God would interpose and bring them back again; that he would be favourable to them, and lift upon them the light of his countenance. So with all. In our backslidings, our afflictions, and our troubles, our only hope is that God will bring us back to himself; our proper place is at the throne of mercy; our pleadings should be urgent, earnest, and constant, that he will interpose and have mercy on us; our solemn purpose — our expressed and recorded pledge — should be that if we are restored to God, we will wander no more. But, alas! how much easier it is to say this than to do it; how much easier to promise than to perform; how much easier to pledge oui'selves when we are in ailliction that if the troubles are removed we will be faithful, thau it is to carry out such a purpose when the days of prosperity return, and we are again surrounded by the blessings of health and of peace. If all men — even good men — Jcept the vows which they make, the world would be comparatively a pure and happy world; if the church itself Avould only carry out its own solemn pledges, it would indeed arise and shine, and the world would soon be filled with light and salvation.

This psalm purports also to be a psalm of Asaph. See Introd. to Ps. Ixxiii. In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, it may be assumed to have been composed by or for the Asaph who was the contemporary of David, and M'ho was appointed b}' him to preside over the music of the sanctuaiy. Yenema, indeed, supposes that the psalm was composed in the time of Josiah, at the observance of the great Passover celebrated by him (2 Chron. xxxv.); but there is no positive evidence of this, though there is nothing in the psalm that is inconsistciit with such a supposition. On the phrase in the title, upon Gittith.) see Notes on the title to Ps. viii.

composed seems to have been a festal occasion, and the circumstances in the psalm will probably best accord with the supposition that it was the Feast of the Passover, llosenmiiller has indeed endeavoured to show (see his Notes on ver. 4) that it was composed on occasion of the Feast of Trumpets (Lev. xxiii. 2-1:, et seq.); but there is nothing in the psalm which would necessarily restrict it to that, and, as we shall see, all the circumstances in the psalm harmonize with the supposition that it was at the Feast of the Passover, the principal and the most important festival of the Hebrews. It is well remarked by De Wette (Introd. to the psalm), that as the Hebrews were required to make known to their children the design of the ordinance of the Passover (see Ex. xii. 26, 27), nothing would be n:ore natural than that the sacred poets should take occasion from the return of that festival to enforce the truths pertaining to it in songs composed for the celebration. Such seems to have been the design of this psalm, — reminding the people of the goodness of God in the past, and recalling them from their sins by a remembrance of his mercies, and by a view of what would be the consequences of fully obeying his la,w.

It would seem from the psalm not improbable that it was composed in a time of national declension in religion, and when there was a tendency to idolatry, and that the object of the author Avas to rouse the nation from that state, and to endeavour by a reference to the past to bring them back to a more entire devotedness to God.

I. The duty of praise, particularly on such occasions as that on Avhich the psalm was composed; — a duty enjoined even in Egypt, in the time of Joseph, Avhen God delivered his people out of that strange land, vers. 1-7.

II. The main command Avhich was then ordained to be the guide of the people — the fixed law of the nation — the fundamental idea in their polity, — that there Avas to be no strange god among them, but that they were to Avorship the true God, and him alone, vers. 8-10.

III. The fact that the nation had refused to hear; that there had been such a proneness to Avorship other gods, and to fall into the habits of idolaters,

• To the chief Musician upon Gittith. 2 A rsulin 1 of Asapli.

SING aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.

2 Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.

3 Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day:

IV. A statement of what God would have done for them if they had been obedient; of what would have been the effect on their national prosperity if they had hearkened to the commands of God; and consequently of what would still be the result if the people should be obedient, and submit themselves wholly to the law of God, vers. 13-16. Particularl)- —

(1) Their enemies would have been subdued, ver. 14.

(2) Those who hated the Lord would have yielded themselves to him,

(3) God would have given them abundant prosperity; he would have fed them Avith the finest of the wheat, and would have satisfied them with honey out of the rock, ver. 16.

The psalm is of special importance to the church now, as reminding it of its obligation from the past mercies of God, and as showing what would be the consequences if it should be wholly devoted to the service of God.

1. Sing aloudiinto God our strength. The strength and support of the nation; he from whom the nation has derived all its power. The word rendered sing aloud means to rejoice; and then, to make or cause to rejoice. It would be appropriate to a high festal occasion, where music constituted an important part of the public service. And it would be a proper word to employ in reference to any of the great feasts of the Hebrews. • ^ Make a joyful noise. A noise indicating joy, as distinguished from a noise of mourning or lamentation. ^ Unto the God of Jacob. Not here particularly the God of the patriarch himself, but of the people who bore his name, — his descendants.

up a psalm; perhaps, as we should say, " Raise the tune." Or, it may mean. Take an ode, a hymn, a psalm, composed for the occasion, and accompany it with the instruments of music which are specified. If And bring hither the timbrel. For the purpose of praise. On the meaning of this word rendered timbrel— ^o^A — see Notes on Isa. v. 12. If The pleasant harp. On the word here rendered harp — Jcinnor, — see also Notes on Isa. V. 12. The word translated pleasant tJ'^Vs nam— means properly pleasant, agreeable, sioeet, Ps. cxxxiii. 1; cxlvii. 1. It is connected here with the word harp, as meaning that that instrument was distinguished particularly for a sweet or pleasant sound. •|[ With the psaltery. On the meaning of the word here used — iiebel — see Notes on Isa. v. 12. These were the common instruments of music among the Hebrews. They were employed alike on sacred occasions, and in scenes of revelry. See Isa. v. 12.

3. Bloio i(p the trumpet. The word rendered bloto means to make a clangour or noise as on a trumpet. The trumpet was, like the timbrel, the harp, and the psaltery, a common instrument of music, and was employed on all their festive occasions. It was at first made of horn, and then was made similar in shape to a horn. Comp. Josh. vi. 5; Lev. xxv. 9; Job xxxix. 25. % In the neiv moon. On the festival held at the time of the new moon. There was a high festival on the appearance of the new moon in the month of Tisri, or October, which was the beginning of their civil year, and it is not improbable that the return of each new moon was celebrated with special services. See Notes on Isa. i. 13; comp. 2 Kings P2

4 For this « ivas a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of

5 This he ordained in Joseph foi' a testimony, when he went

iv. 23; Amos viii. 5; 1 Chron. xxiii. 31; 2 Chron. ii. 4. It is not certain, however, that the word here nsed means neto moon. Prof. Alexander renders it in the month; that is, in the month, by way of eminence, in which the passover was celebrated. The word used — ITin, hhodesh — means, indeed, commonly the neiv vioon; the day of the new moon; the fii-st day of the lunar month (Num. xxix. 6; 1 Sam. XX. 5, 18, 24'); but it also means a month; that is, a lunar mouth, beginning at the new moon. Gen. viii. 5; Ex. xiii. 4; et al. The corresponding or parallel word, as we shall see, which is rendered in our version, in the time appointed, means full moon; and the probability is, as Professor Alexander suggests, that in the beginning of the verse the month is mentioned in general, and the particular time of the month — the full moon — in the other part of the verse. Thus the language IS applicable to the passover. On the other supposition — the supposition that the new moon and the full moon are both mentioned — there would be manifest confusion as to the time. ^ In the time appointed. The word here used — MpS. Jceseh — means properly the full moon; the time of the full moon. In Syriac the word means either " the first day of the full moon," or " the whole time of the full moon." (Isa Bar Ali, as quoted by Gesenius, Lex.) Thus the word means, not as in our translation, in the time appointed, but at the full moon, and would refer to the time of the Passover, which was celebrated on the fourteenth day of the lunar month; that is, when the moon was at the full. Ex. xii. 6. ^ On oxir solemn feast day. Heb., In the day of our feast. The word solemn is not necessarily in the original, though the day ivas one of great solemnity. The Passover is doubtless referred to.

4. For this was a statute for Israel, etc. See Ex. xii. 3. That is, it was a law for the whole Jewish people; for all who had the name Israel; for all the descendants of Jacob. The word tvas is not in the original, as if this had been an old commandment which might now be obsolete, but the idea is one oi perpetuity: — it is a perpetual law for the Hebrew people. ^ A law of the God of Jacob. Heb., a jiidgment; or, right. The idea is, that it was what was due to God; what was his right. It was a solemn claim that he should be thus acknowledged. It was not a matter of conventional arrangement, or a matter of convenience to them; nor was it to be observed merely because it was found to be expedient and conducive to the welfare of the nation. It was a matter of right and of claim on the part of God, and was so to be regarded by the nation. The same is true now of the Sabbath, and of all the appointments which God has made for keeping up religion in the world. AH these arrangements are indeed expedient and proper; they conduce to the public welfare and to the happiness of man; but there is a higher reason for their observance than this. It is that God demands their observance; that he claims as his own the time so appropriated. Thus he claims the Sabbath, the entire Sabbath, as his oion; he requires that it shall be employed in his service, that it shall be regarded as his day; that it shall be made instrumental in keeping up the knowledge of himself in the world, and in promoting his glory. Ex. xx. 10. Men, therefore, " rob God " (comp. Mai. iii. 8) when they take this time for needless secular purposes, or devote it to other ends and uses. Nor can this be sinless. The highest guilt which man can commit is to "rob " his Maker of what belongs to Him, and of what He claims. 5. This he ordained in Joseph for out 1 through the laud of Egypt; where I heard a lauguage '' that I uuderstood not.

6 I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands '^ were delivered from the pots. '^

a testimony. Literally, he placed thii; that is, he appointed it. The word Joseph here stands for the whole Hebrew people, as in Ps. Ixxx. 1. See Notes on that verse. The meaning is, that the ordinance for observing this festival — the Passover — was to be traced back to the time when they were in Egypt. The obligation to observe it was thus enlianced by the very antiquity of the observance, and by the fact that it w^as one of the direct appointments of God in that strange and foreign laud. ^ When he ivent out through the land of Egypt. Marg., against. Or rather. In his going out of the land of Egypt. JAterally. In going upon the land of Egypt. The allusion is, undoubtedly, to the time when the Hebrews went out of the land of Egypt — to the Exodus; and the exact idea is, that, in doing this, they passed over a considerable portion of the land of Egypt; or, that they passed over the land. The idea in the margin, of its being against the land of Egypt, is not necessarily in the original. % Where / heard a language that I understood not. Literally, "The lip [that is, the language] of one that I did not know, I heard." This refers, undoubtedly, not to God, but to the people. The author of this psalm identifies himself here with the people — the whole nation, — and speaks as if he were one of them, and as it' he now recollected the circumstances at the time — the strange language — the foreign customs — the oppressions and burdens borne by the people. Throwing himself back, as it were, to that time (comp. Notes on 1 Thess. iv. 17), — he seems to himself to be in the midst of a people speaking a strange tongue — a language unintelligible to hiin — the language of a foreign nation. The Jews, in all their long captivity in Egypt — a period of four hundred years (see Notes on Acts vii. 6), — preserved their own language apparently incorrupt. So far as appears, they spoke the same language, without change, when they came out of Egypt, that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had used. The Egyptian was entirely a foreign language to them, and had no affinity with the Hebrew. G. / removed his shoulder from the liirden. Tl;e burden which the people of Israel were called to bear in Egypt. The reference is undoubtedly to their burdens in making bricks, and conveying them to the place where they were to be used; and perhaps also to the fact that they were required to carry stone in building houses and towns for the Egyptians. Comp. Ex. i. 11-14; v. 4-17. The meaning is, that he had saved them from these burdens, to wit, by delivering them from their hard bondage. The speaker here evidently is God. In the previous verse it is the people. Such a change of person is not 'uncommon in the Scriptures. % His hands tcere delivered from the pots. jVIarg., as in Heb., passed away. That is, they were separated from them, or made free. The word rendered pots usually has that signification. Job xli. 20; 1 Sam. ii. 14; 2 Chron. xxxv. 13; but it may also mean a basket. Jer. xxiv. 2; 2 Kings x. 7. The latter is probably the meaning here. The allusion is to baskets which might have been used in carrying clay, or conveying the bricks after they were made:— perhaps a kind of hamper that was swung over the shoulders, with clay or bricks in each, — somewhat like the instrument used now by the Chinese in carrying tea, — or like the neck-yoke which is employed in carrying sap wliere maple sugar is manufactured, or milk on dairy farms. There are many representations on Egyptian sculptures which would illustrate this. The idea is that of a

7 Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee: I answered thee in the secret place of thunder; I proved '^ thee at the waters of ^ Meribah. Selah.

burden, or task, and the allusion Is to the deliverance that was accomplished by removing them to another land.

7. Thou calledst in troulh. The people of Israel. Ex. ii. 23; iii. 9; xiv. 10. ^ And I delivered thee. I brought the people out of Egypt. ^ / answered thee in the secret place of thunder. That is, in the lonely, retired, solemn place where the thunder rolled; the solitudes where there was no voice but the voice of thunder, and where that seemed to come from the deep recesses of the mountain gorges. The allusion is doubtless to Sinai. Comp. Ex. xix. 17-19. The meaning is, that he gave a response — a real reply — to their prayer — amid the solemn scenes of Sinai, when he gave them his law; when he recognized them as his people; when he entered into covenant with them. % I proved thee. I tried you; I tested your fidelity. ^ At the loaters of Meribah. Marg., as in Heb., strife. This was at Mount Horeb. Ex. xvii. 5-7. The trial — the proof — consisted in his bringing water from the rock, showing that he was God — that be was their God.

8. Hear, O my people, and I tvill testify unto thee, etc. See Notes on the similar passage in Ps. 1. 7. God calls their attention to what he required of them; to what his law demanded; to what was the condition of their being his people and of securing his favour. What he demanded was, that they should acknowledge him; obey him; serve him; that there should be no strange god among them, and that they should worship no false god, ver. 9.

will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou Avilt hearken unto me;

9 There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.

10 I « am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the

nised and regarded as a god. This was a condition of his favour and friendship. Comp. Deut. xxxii. 12; Isa. xliii. 12. The word here rendered strange — T^, zar — has reference to one of a foreign nation; and the meaning is, that they were not to worship or adore the gods that were worshipped by foreigners. This was a fundamental law of the Hebrew commonwealth. ^ Neither shalt thou worship any strange god. The Hebrew word here is different — "iDj. naikar — but means substantially the same thing. The allusion is to gods worshipped by foreign nations.

10. I am the Loed thy God, etc. See Ex. xx. 2. The meaning is, " I am Jehovah, thy God; the God to be worshipped and honoured by thee; I only am thy God, and no other god is to be recognised or acknowledged by thee." The foundation of the claim to exclusive service and devotion is here laid in the fact that he had brought them out of the land of Egypt. Literally, had caused them to ascend, or go up from that land. The claim thus asserted seems to be twofold: (a) That in doing this, he had shown that he ivas God, or that he had performed a work which none but God could perform, and had thus shown his existence and power; and (S) that by this he had brought them under peculiar obligations to himself, inasmuch as they owed all that they had — their national existence and liberty — entirely to him. ^ Open thy mouth tvide, and I ivill fill it. Possibly an allusion to young birds, when fed by the parent-bird. The meaning here is, " I can amply supply all your wants. You need not go to other gods — the gods of other lands — as if there were any deficiency in

land of Egypt: open /thy mouth wide, and 1 will fill it.

11 But 'J my people would not hearken to my voice: and Israel would none of me.

12 So '^ I gave them up ' unto

my power or resources; as if Z were not able to meet your necessities. All your wants I can meet. Ask what you need — what you will; come to me and make any request with reference to yourselves as individuals or as a nation — to this life or the life to come — and you will find in me an abundant supply for all your wants, and a -willingness to bless you commensurate with my resources." What is here said of the Hebrews may be said of the people of God at all times. There is not a want of our nature — of our bodies or our souls; a want pertaining to this life or the life to come — to ourselves, to our families, to our friends, to the church, or to our country — which God is not able to meet; and there is not a real necessity in any of these respects which he is not xviUing to meet. Why, then, should his people ever turn for hapjyness to the " weak and beggarly elements of the world " (comp. Notes on Gal. iv. 9), as if God could not satisfy them? Why should they seek for happiness in vain amusements, or in sensual pleasures, as if God could not, or would not, supply the real wants of their souls?

11. But my people, etc. See Ps. Ixxviii. 10, 11, 17-19- If And Israel would none of me. Literally, " Did not loill me;" that is, "did not incline to me; were not attached to me; were not disposed to worship me, and to find happiness in me." Comp. Isa. i. 19; Job xxxix. 9; Prov. i. 25. They refused or rejected him. See Ex. xxxii. 1; Deut. xxxii.-lS, 18.

12. So I gave them up unto their oum Iiearts' lust. Marg., as in Heb., to the hardness of their own hearts. Literally, " I sent them, or I dismissed them, to the hardness of their hearts."

their own hearts' lust; and they walked in their own counsels.

13 Oh ' that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!

I suffered them to have what, in the hardness of their hearts they desired, or what their hard and rebellious hearts prompted them to desire. I indulged them in their wishes. I gave them what they asked, and left them to themselves to work out the problem about success and happiness in their own way, — to let them see what must be the result of forsaking the true God. The w^orld — and the church too — has been often suffered to make this experiment. ^ And they tcalked in their oivn counsels. As they thought wise and best. Comp. Acts vii. 42; xiv. IG; Rom. i. 24; Ps. Ixxviii. 26-37.

13. Oh that my people had hearkened unto me. This passage is designed mainly to show what would have been the consequences if the Hebrew people had been obedient to the commands of God, vers. 14-16. At the same time, however, it expresses what was the earnest desire — the wish — the preference of God, viz., that they had been obedient, and had enjoyed his favour. This is in accordance with ail the statements, all the commands, all the invitations, all the warnings, in the Bible. In the entire volume of inspiration there is not one command addressed to men to walk in the ways of sin; there is not one statement that God desires they should do it; there is not one intimation that he wishes the death of the sinner. The contrary is implied in all the declarations which God has made, — in all his commands, warnings, and invitations, — in all his arrangements for the salvation of men. See Deut. v. 29; xxxii. 29, 30; Isa. xlviii. 18; Ezek. xviii. 23, 32; xxxiii. 11; 2 Pet. iii. 9; Luke xix. 42. ^ And Israel had xvallced in my

14 I sliould soon Lave subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.

15 The haters of the Lord should have ^ submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever.

16 He should have fed them

ways! Had kept iny commandmeuts; had been obedient to my laws. When men, therefore, do not walk in the ways of God it is impossible that they should take refuge, as an excuse for it, in the plea that God desires this, or that he commands it, or that he is pleased with it, or that he approves it. Tliere is no possible sense in which this can be true; in every sense, and on every account, he prefers that men should be obedient, and not disobedient; good, and not bad; happy, and not miserable; saved, and not lost. Every doctrine of theology should be held and interpreted in consistency with this as a fundamental truth. That there are things which are difficult to be explained on the supposition that this is true, must be admitted; but what truth is there in reference to which there are not difficulties to be explained? And is there anything in this, or in any of the truths of the Bible, which more demands explanation than the facts which are actually occurring under the government of God: — the fact that sin and misery have been allowed to come into the universe; the fact that multitudes constantly suffer whom God could at once relieve?

14. I should soon have subdued their enemies. This is one of the consequences which, it is said, would have followed if they had been obedient to the laws of God. The phrase rendered soon means literally like a little; that is, as we might say, in a little, to wit, in a little time. The word rendered subdued means to bow down; to be curved or bent; and the idea is, that he would have caused them to bow down, to wit, by submission before them. Com p. Deut. xxxii. 29, 30. ^ And turned my hand against their adversaries. Against those who oppressed and wronged them. The act of turning the hand against one is significant of putting him away — repelling him — disowning him — as when we would thrust one away from us with aversion.

15. The haters of the LoED. The enemies of the Lord, often represented as those who hate him, — hatred being always in fact or in form connected with an unwillingness to submit to God. It is hatred of his law; hatred of his government; hatred of his plans; hatred of his character. See Rom. i. 30; John vii. 7; xv. 18; 23-25. Comp. Ex. xx. 5. ^ Should have submitted themselves unto him. Marg., yielded feigned obedience. Heb., lied. See the phrase explained in the Notes on Ps. xviii. 44. The meaning is, that they would have been so subdued as to acknowledge his authority or supremacy, while it is, at the same time, implied that this would have been ybrcerf and not coT' dial. No external power, though it may so conquer as to make men outwardly obedient, can affect the ivill, or subdue that. The grace of God alone can do that, and it is the peculiar triumph of grace that it can do it. ^ But their time. The time of his people. They would have continued to be a happy and a flourishing nation. ^ Should have endured for ever. Perpetually, — as long as they continued to be obedient. If a nation were obedient to the will of God; if it wholly obeyed his laws; if it countenanced by statute no form of sin; if it protected no iniquity; if it were temperate, just, virtuous, honest, there is no reason why its institu-

. tions shoukl not be perpetual, or why it should ever be overthrown. Sin is, in all cases, the cause of the ruin of nations, as it is of individuals.

also with tlie ^ finest of the wheat: and with honey ^ out of

should I have satisfied and their land would have produced abundantly of tlie necessities — even of the luxuries — of life. This is in accordance with the usual promises of the Scriptures, that obedience to God will be followed by national temporal prosperity. See Deut. xxxii. 13, 14; 1 Tim. iv. 8; Ps. xxxvii. 11. Com p. Notes on Matt. v. 5. ^ With the finest of the wheat. Marg., as iu Heb., loith the fat of wheat. The meaning is, the best of the wheat, — as the words fat and fatness txre often used to denote excellence and abundance. Gen. xxvii. 28, 39; Job xxxvi. 16; Ps. xxxvi. 8; Ixiii. 5; Ixv. 11. ^ And trith honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee. Palestine abounded with bees, and honey was a favourite article of food. Gen. xliii. 11; Deut. viii. 8; xxxii. 13; 1 Sam. xlv. 25, 26; Isa. vii. 15; Ezek. xvi. 13; Matt. iii. 4. Much of that which was obtained was wild honey, deposited by the bees in the hollows of trees, and as it would seem iu the caverns of the rocks. Much of it was gathered also from rocky regions, and this was regarded as the most delicate and valuable. I do not know the cause of this, nor why lioney in high and rocky countries should be more pure and white than that obtained from other places; but the whitest and the most pure and delic:\te honey that I have ever seen I found at Chamouni in Switzerland. Dr. Thomson (Land and the Book, vol. ii. p. 362) says of the rocky region in the vicinity of Timnath, that *' bees were so abundant iu a wood at no great distance from this spot that the honey dropped down from the trees on the ground;" and that " he explored densely-wooded gorges in Hermon and in Southern Lebanon where wild bees are still found, both iu trees and in the clefts of the rocks." The meaning here is plain, that, if Israel had been obedient to

God, he would have blessed them with abundance — with the richest and most coveted productions of the field. Pure religion — obedience to God — morality — temperance, purity, honesty, and industry, such as religion requires — are always eminently favourable to individual and national prosperity; and if a man or a nation desired to be most prospered, most successful in the lawful and proper objects of individual or national existence, and most happy, nothing would tend more to conduce to it than those virtues which piety enjoins and cultivates. Individuals and nations, even iu respe(;t to temporal prosperity, are most unwise, as well as most wicked, when they disregard the laws of God, and turn away from the precepts and the spirit of religion. It is true of nations, as it is of individuals, that " Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is," 1 Tim. iv. 8.

This, too, is a " Psalm of Asaph." See Introd. to Psalm Ixxiii. There is nothing, however, in its contents to detei*- minc the time or the occasion of its being composed, although there is no difficulty in ascertaining the design for which it was written, or the use to be made of it. It is intended to state the duties and the responsibilities of magistrates or civil rulers. Though the language is such as was adapted peculiarly to the Hebrew magistracy, and to the duties of magistrates as specified in the Jewish law, yet the principles are such as should guide magistrates at all times and in all countiies; and the truths suggested are such as are eminently worthy the attention of all who are entrusted with authority.

The psalm was evidently composed at a time when there was much that Avas unjust and oppressive in the administration of justice; when the magistrates were corrupt; when they could be bribed; when they were forgetful of their obligation to 'defend the poor and the fatherless — the afflicted and tho needy; when manifest consequences of the evil administration of justice prevailed in the land, and "all the foundations of the earth" seemed to be " out of course;" and when those in power were haughty and arrogant, as if they were not men, and were not to die. De Wette supposes that the psalm was composed in the time of the Babylonish exile, and had reference to the conduct of the oppressive rulers in that land; but it is hot necessary to suppose this. There were doubtless many occasions in the history of the Hebrew people when all that is here said of the conduct of then- rulers and judges was applicable to them. Comp. Isa. i. 17, 23, 26.

I. A reference to God as the Supreme Ruler; — the Ruler of those that rule; — the God to whom all magistrates, however exalted in rank, are responsible,

II. A reference to the character of the magistrates at the time when the psalm was written, as those who judged unjustly; who were partial in the administration of justice; and who favoured men of rank and position, v^er. 2.

III. A statement of the duties of magistrates, in reference particularl}^ to the poor, the fatherless, the need}', and the afflicted, vers. 3, 4.

IV. A further statement in regard to the character of the magistrates at the time when the psalm was written, particularly as ignorant, and as walking in darkness, ver. o.

V. A solemn appeal to them as mcrtal men — as subject to death like othei's, — though they had a rank which entitled them to the appellation of ^'■gods," and Avcre the representatives of the Most High on earth, vers. 6, 7.

VI. A call on God to arise and to execute judgment in the earth, for he was the Supreme Ruler, and the nations, with all their interests, pertahied to him,

1. God standeth in the congregation of the mighty. In the assembly of the rulers and judges; among those of most exalted rank and station. He is there to observe them; to give them law; to direct their decisions; to judge them. He is supreme over them; and he holds them responsible to himself. The word rendered congregation is that which is commonly applied to the assembly of the people of Israel, considered as an organized body, or as a body politic. It here, however, refers to magistrates considered as a body or class of men; as those who have assemblages or meetings, with special reference to their duties as magistrates. The word rendered mighty — 5K, el — is in the singular number, and is one of the names which are given to God; hence the literal rendering is, "God standeth in the assembly of God." The Septuagint renders it. In the synagogue of the gods. So also the Latin Vulgate. The reference, however, is undoubtedly to magistrates, and the idea is, that they were to be regarded as representatives of God; as acting in his name; and as those, therefore, to whom, in a subordinate sense, the name gods might be given. Comp. ver. 6. In Ex. xxi. 6; xxii. 8, 9, 28, also, the same word in the plural is applied to magistrates, and is properly translated J?/rf^es in our common version. Comp. Notes on John x. 34, 35. The idea is, that they were the representatives of the Divine sovereignty in the administration of justice. Comp. Rom. xiii. 1, 2, 6. They were, in a sense, gods to other men; but they were not to forget that God stood among them as their God; that if they were exalted to a high rank in respect to their fellowmen, they were, nevertheless, subject to One to whom the name of God belonged in the highest sense. ^ He judgeth among the gods. As they to whom the name gods is thus given as the representatives of the Divine sovereignty judged among men, so

2 How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Sclah,

3 ^ Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice '" to the afflicted and needy.

4 Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.