' V t> V\^^ .>>.>.>,-;.> 1 ., >a^y hM > Sj^HHI H '^^^ ^n '>^^^ o^^l >^mn Q^^^^^l c Biblical i^ t^URNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY GIFT OF Barnes Hall Library PRESENTED BY ALFRED C. BARNES. NOT TO BE TAKEN FROM THE ROOM. ! I CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 1924 092 344 245 sa Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924092344245 A. COMMENTARY ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES: CRITICAL, DOCTRINAL, AND HOMILETICAL WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO MINISTERS AND STUDENTS, BY JOHN PETEK L ANGE, D. D., PROFESSOR OF THEQI.OGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF BONN, IN CONNECTION WITH A NUMBER OF EMINENT EUROPEAN DIVINES. TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN, AND EDITED, WITH ADDITIONS, BY PHILIP SCHAFF, D.D., PROFESSOR 5N THE UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, NEW YORK, IN CONNECTION WITH AMERICAN SCHOLARS OF VARIOUS EVANGELICAL DENOMINATIONS. VOL. IX. OF THE OLD TESTAMENT : CONTAINING THE BOOK OF PSALMS. NEW YORK: CHARLES SCHIBNER'S SONS, 1884. THE P S A L M S. BY CAiRL BERNHARD MOLL, D.D., GENERAL SUPEKINTENDENT IN KONiaSBEEQ, PRUSSIA. TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN, WITH ADDITIONS, BY Rev. CHAELES A. BRIGGS, Rev. JOHN FORSYTH, D. D., Rev. JAMES B. HAMMOND, Rev. J. FRED, M^CURDYj TOGETHER WITH A NEW VERSION OF THE PSALMS AND PHILOLOGICAL NOTES BY REY. THOMAS J. CONANT, D.D, NEW TORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, 1884. ' Entered, according to" act of Congress, in the year 1872, by SCRIBNER, ARMSTEONC^ % CO., In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at "Washington. JAS. B. R0DGER3 PRINTING CO. PHII-ADELPHIA. LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS TO THE CRITICAL, DOCTRINAL, AND HOMILETICAL COMMEN- TARY ON THE BIBLE. GENERAL EDITORS: Key. JOHANN PETER LANGE, D.D., Gonsistorial Counselor and Professor of Theology in the University of Bonn. Rev. PHILIP SCHAFP, D.D., LL.D., Professor of Sacred Literature in the Union Theological Seminary^ New York, I. CONTRIBUTORS TO THE GERMAN EDITION. Rev. C. A. AUBERLEN, Ph.D., D.D., Professor of Theology in the XJniverBity of Basle, Switzerland. Rev. KAKL CHR. W. F. BAHR, D.D,, Ministerial Counselor at Carlsruhe. Rev. KAJEIL BRAUNH, D.B., General Superintendent at Altenburg, Saxony. Rev. PAULUS CASSEL, Ph.D., Professor in Berlin. Rev. CHR. FR. DAVID ERDMANN, D.D., Gen- Superintendent of Silef?ia, and Prof. Honorarius of Theology in the University of Breslau. Rev. F. R. FAY, Pastor in Crefeld, Prussia. Rev. G-. P. C. FRONMtJLI/ER, Ph.D., Pastor at Kemnath, Wartemberg. Rev. KARL GBROK, D.D., Prelate and Chief Chaplain of the Court, Stuttgart. Rev. PAUL KLEINERT, Ph.D., B.D., Professor of Old Testament Exegesia in the University ' of Berlin. Rev. CHRIST. FR. KLINO, D.D., Dean of Marbach on the Neckar, Wurtemberg. Rev. GOTTHARD VICTOR LECHLER, D.D., Professor of Theology, and Superintendent at Leipilf, Rev. CARL BERNHARD MOLL, D.D., General Superintendent in KCnigsberg. Rev. C. W. EDWARD NAEGELSBACH, Ph.D., Dean at Bajrreuth, Bavaria Rev. J. J. VAN OOSTERZEB, D.D., Professor of Theology in the University of Utrecht. Rev. C. J. RIGGBNBACH, D.D., Professor of Theology in the University of Baala. Eev. OTTO SCHMOLLER, Ph.D^ B.D., Urach, Wiirtemberg. Eev. FR. JULIUS SCHROEDER, D.Dn Pastor at Eltoerfeld. Prussia. Rev. FR. W. -SCHULTZ, D.D., Professor of Theology in Breslaij. Rev. OTTO ZOECKLER, D.D., Professor of Theology in the Univ^sity at Greifsw«l& II. CONTRIBUTORS TO THE ANGLO-AMERICAN EDITION. Rev. CHARLES A. AIEJIN, Ph.D., D.D., Professor of Christian Ethics and Apologetics at Princeton, N. J. Rev. SAMUEL RALPH ASBURT, M.A., Philadelphia. EDWIN CONE BISSELL, D.D. Professor in the Theol. Seminary at Hartford, Ct. Rev. GEORGE R. BLISS, D.D., Professor in Crozor Theological Seminary, Upland, Pa. Rev. OHAS. A. BRIGUS, D.D., Frofeaaor of Oriental Languages in the Union Theological Seminary, New York. Rev. JOHN A. BROADUS, D.D., Professor of New Testament Exegesis at Louisville, Ky. Rev. TALBOT W. CHAMBERS, D-D., Pastor of the Collegiate Reformed Dutch Church, New York. Rev. THOMAS J. CONANT, D.D., Brooklyn, N. Y. Rev. E. R. CRAVEN, O.D., NewflT-k, N. J. Rev. HOWARD CROSBY, D.D.,LL.D., Chancellor of the University of New York. LIST OF 00NTRIBUT0R8. Rev. GEO. E. DAT, D.D., Professor in Yale Divinity School, New Haven, Conn. Rev. CHAS. ELLIOTT, D.D., Professor of Biblical Literature and Exegesis, Chicago, Dl. Rev. L. J. EVANS, D.D., Professor of New Test. Exegesis in Lane TheoL Seminary, Cincinnati. Rev. PATRICK FAIRBAIRN, D.D., Principal and Professor of Divinity in the Free Church Collaige, Glasgow. Rev. "WILLIAM FINDLAT, M.A., Pastor of the Free Church, Larkhall, Scotland. ^ Rev. JOHN FORSYTH, D.D., LL.D., Chaplain and Prof, of Ethics and Law in U. S. Military Academy, West Point, N. Y. Rev. FREDERIC GARDINER, D.D., Prof, of the Literature of the O. T. in Berkeley Divinity School, Middletown, Ct. Kev. ABRAHAM GOSMAN, D.D., Lawrenceville, N. J. Rev. W. HENRY GREEN, D.D., LL.D., Professor of Oriental Literature in the Theol. Seminary at Princeton, N. J. Eev. JAMES B. HAMMOND, M.A., New York. Rev. HORATIO B. HACKETT, D.D , Professor of Biblical Exegesis in the Theological Seminary, Rochester, N. Y. Rev. EDWIN HARWOOD, D.D., Rector of Trinity Church, New Haven, Conn. Rev. W. H. HORNBLOWER, D.D., Professor of Sacred Rhetoric, etc., in the TheoL Seminary at Alleghany, Pa. Rev. JOHN F. HURST, D.D., President of the Drew Theological Seminary, Madison, N. J. Rev. A. C. EENDRICK, D.D., LL.D., Professor of Greek in the University of Rochester, N. Y. TAYLER LEWIS, LL.D., Professor of Oriental Languages in Union College, Schenectady, N. Y. Eev. JOHN LILLIE, D.D^ Kingston, N. Y. EfiV. SAMUEL T. LOWRIE, D.D., Philadelphia, Pa. Rev. J. FRED. McCURDY, M.A., Afis't Professor of the Hebrew Language in the TheoL Sem. at Princeton, N. J . Rev. CHARLES M. MEAD, Ph.D., PtnleBBor of the Hebrew Language and Literature in the TbeoL Sem., Andover, Uaaa. Rev. J. ISADOR MOMBERT, D, D., Philadelphia, Pa. Rev. DUNLOP MOORE, D.D., New Brighton, Pa. Mifls EVELINA MOORB, Newark, N. J. JAMES G. MURPHY, LL.D., Professor in the General Assembly's and the Queen's College at Belfast. Rev. HOWARD OSGOOD, D.D., Professor of the Interpretation of the Old Test, in the Theol, Sem., Rochester, N. Y. Rev. JOSEPH PACKARD, D.D. Professor of Biblical Literature in the Theological Seminary at Alexandria, Va. Rev. DANIEL W. POOR, D.D., Professor of Church History in the Theological Seminary at San Francisco, Cal. Rev. MATTHEWS. RIDDLE, D.D , Professor of New Testament Exegesis in the TheoU Seminary at Hartford, Conn. Rev. CHAS. P. SCHAEFFER, D.D., Professor of Theology in the Evangelical Lutheran Seminary at Philadelphia. Rev. WILLIAM G. T. SHEDD, D.D., LL.D., Professor of Systematic Theology in the Union Theological Seminary, New York. Rev. CHAS. C. STARBUCK, M.A., Formerly Tutor in the Theological Seminary at Andoven, Mass. Rev. P. H. STEENSTRA, Professor of Biblical Literature at Cambridge, Mass. Rev. JAMES STRONG, D.D., Professor of Exegetical Theology in the Drew Theological Seminary, Madison, N. J. Rev. W. G. SUMNER, M.A., Professor in Yale College, New Haven, Conn. Rev. 0. H. TOY, D.D., Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament Exegesis, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Rev. E. A. WASHBURN, D.D., LL.D., Rector of Calvary Church, New York. WILLIAM WELLS, M.A., LL.D., Professor of Modern Languages in Union Colleoa. New York. ^ Rev. C. P. WING, D.D., Carlisle, Pa. Eev. E. D. YEOMANS, D.D., Orange, N. J. PREFACE BY THE G-ENERAL EDITOR. Dr. Moll's Commentary on the Psalter appeared, in two separate parts, in 1869 and 1870. It was concluded during the stirring events of the Franco-German war. It is regarded as one of the best parts in Lange's Biblework, especially in the Doctrinal and Ethical sections. Dr. Moll was formerly Professor of Theology in Halle, and is now General Superintendent of the Evangelical Church in the Province of Prussia. We insert the author's Preface to Part II., dated November, 1870: " The mighty convulsions of the present war, while they have cast down a glittering throne from its proud elevation, have buried, too, much unobtrusive and quiet happiness, and have opened wounds that must long keep bleeding. Yet, from out of desolation and tears, does the goodness of the Eternal evoke renewed safety and a joyful future for a people tried and purified in the fire of affliction. Nor can we fail to discern in the events of those days a visitation of God. Many an ear, which has long been accustomed to other sounds, has heard the footsteps of the Almighty as He marches through the world in judgment, and has been inclined to listen to the word of the only true and living God. And many a hand, too, will be stretched out, with special eagerness, for the Book of Psalms, full as it is of those poems, of which such a poet as Byron said, that they are as lofty as heaven and deeper than the ocean. From such fulness as this has the Church ever drawn, and it affords instruction as well as delight, to trace through the course of the ages its inexhaustible adaptation to the needs of the people of God, to the varying tastes of different periods, and to the progress of the science of interpretation. May its own teachings and the accompany- ing remarks and suggestions realize the aim of the Bibelwerk, and afford spiritual aid to the brethren in the ministry. In the department of Practical Exposition we have now farther to note ; Der Psalter, erkldrt von L. Harms, well. Pastor in Hermannshurg , 1869 (The Psalter explained by L. Harms, late Pastor in Hermansburg, 1869). Caspari, Des Gottesfurchtigen Freud und Leid, Wochenpredigten uber den Psalter (The Joy and Sorrow of those who fear God; Weekly Sermons on the Psalter), with a preface by Delitzsch, 1870. W. Stern, Funfzehn Mes&ianische Psalmen, fur Versidndniss, Belehrung und Erhauung der Freunde des gottliehen Wortes erkldrt, 1870 (Fifteen Messianic Psalms, explained for the enlightenment, instruction, and edification of the friends of the Divine Word). In the department of Textual Criticism we have to mention that the Monumenta Sacra Inedita, published by Const. Teschendorf, contain in Vol. IV. of the Nova Collectio, 1869, the Psalterivm Turicense, important for the criticism of the Text of the Septuagint. It was written upon purple parchment, in silver and gold, about the 7th century. It consists of 223 leaves, and comprises 118 Psalms, together with 9 Biblical Hymns and 1 Church Hymn. Its readings show more agreement with the Cod. Alex, than with the Cod. Vat., and often con- firm those of the Aldine and Complutensian texts. The relation which it exhibits to one of the correctors of the Cod. Sinait. is worthy of special attention. The insertion, in elegant red letters, of the first word of each verse in Latin from the Vulgate of Jerome, by the side of the Greek Text, goes to show that it was executed in the West.'' ii PREFACE BY THE GENERAL EDITOR. I had a strong desire to prepare the Commentary on the Psalter myself, but could not command time. To avoid delay, I divided the work among several scholars, as follows : The Introduction was prepared by the E-ev. James B. Hammond, with additional Notes by the Rev. Charles A. Brigqs. Psalms I-XLI., and LI.-LXXII., by the Rev. Charles A. Brigos, Pastor at Roselle, New Jersey. Psalms XLII.-L., by the Rev. John" Forsyth, D. D., Chaplain and Professor of Ethics in the National Military Academy at West Point, New York. Dr. F. had assumed the entire second Book, but could not finish his task in time, on account of his removal to West Point. Psalms LXXIII.-CL., by the Rev. J. Fred. McCurdy, of Princeton, New Jersey. In this last part, Dr. Green, Professor of Hebrew and O. T, Exegesis in the Princeton Theolo- gical Seminaiy, has taken special interest, and aided his friend, Mr. M^Curdy, with lin- guistical and exegetical helps from his own library and other sources. The contributors were instructed carefully to consult the well-known German Commen- taries of Hupfeld, Ewald, Delitzsch, Hengstenberg, as well as the English and American works of Perowne, Wordsworth, Alexander, Barnes, and others. The Homiletical depart- ment has been condensed to make room for extracts from English sources, including Spurgeon's Treasury of David, as far as published. As to the text, I have given the reader the benefit of two translations. The Authorized Version has been retained as the basis of the Commentary, but arranged according to the laws of Hebrew parallelism and the stanza divisions of Moll. The New Version of the Psalms, with brief philological notes, which follows the Com- mentary of Moll, is the work of the veteran Hebrew scholar. Dr. Con ant, of Brooklyn. It is substantially the same with that originally prepared by the author for the "American Bible Union," but differs from it by numerous corrections in the renderings, suggested by further comparison of the Hebrew text, and certain changes in form, and additional matter, to adapt it to the present work ; namely, the use of the termination th for the 3c? pers. sing, of the verb, and of a small initial letter in lines continuing a sentence ; and the addition of critical and philological notes, at the end of each Psalm, on points of more special interest and difficulty. A revision of the English Scriptures intended for public and devotional use should, in my opinion, retain the idiom of our Authorized Version, and depart from its grammar and vocabulary as rarely and as little as is consistent with the true meaning of the original and the present state of the English language. But the merits of a version which forms part of a critical commentary, must be measured by the degree of its fidelity to the original Hebrew and not to King James* or any other translation.^ Judged by this standard, Dr. Conant's version and notes will be found a very valuable addition to this commentary. By these numerous additions the volume on the Psalms exceeds both Parts of the German original by 264 pages, and is much larger than any other volume of the English edition of Lange. Nevertheless, the price is the same. The Psalter is the first Hymn-Book of the Church, and will outlive all other hymn- books. Its treasury of pious experience and spiritual comfort will never be exhausted. And as it will continue to be used in public worship, and for private devotion eveiywhere so commentary will follow commentary to the end of time. May this volume contribute its share towards a fuller understanding and application of the Psalms. Philip S chaff. 40 Bible House, New York, Sept. 23, 1872. THE PSALTER. INTRODUCTION, § 1. CANOmCAL POSITION" AITO TITLE. The Psalter stands at the beginning of the third division of the Hebrew Scriptures (the Kethubim* or Hagiographa) in most of the Hebrew MSS. of the German class, followed by our printed editions. Philo ii. 475 and Luke xxiv. 44 seem to favor this position. The Spanish class of MSS., however, like the Masora, place the Chronicles at the head of this division (which in the prologue of Sirach is co-ordinate with the Law and the Pro- phets under the name tuv cAAcjv TraTpiov jiijiliuv) ;f whilst the Talmud informs us that even the little book of Euth had the first place. J Still another Jewish canon mentioned by Je- rome in his Prologus Oaleatus begins with the book of Job, and places the Psalter second in this series of sacred writings. This arrangement was made with reference mainly to the subject matter, and is the one which was adopted by the Alexandrian version, and followed by the Vulgate, the German and English Bibles. Comp. Herzfeld, Geschichte des Volkes Israel iii. 102 sq.§ The Position of the Psalter among the Hagiographa is in accordance with its nature, not so much on account of the lateness of its completion, as rather its thorough-going joy and peculiar lyrical character which springing from the soil of revelation, in the sacred history of Israel ; nourished by the revealed word of Jehovah in closest connection with the public worship of the covenant people, discloses the throbbing heart of the Israelites' life of faith, and speaks the language of revelation as subjectively appropriated by the inmost feelings. The position of the Psalter among the Hagiographa does not at all indicate that it was esteemed inferior to the "Prophets," — ^the second great division of the Hebrew canon (embracing the prophetic books and those historical books following the Thorah). The view of some theologians, that there were different degrees of inspiration among the sacred writings, at least in the form which ascribed the origin of the Hagiographa simply to the Holy Spirit, whilst the remaining canonical books were ascribed to the Prophetic Spirit (Carpzov, Introduct. i. 25), was an unhistorical theory of a few Rabbis (Havernick, Einleitung i. 66 ff). For the Holy Spirit was frequently and expressly represented as inspiring the Prophets ; the term " Holy " Spirit was explained by the term "Prophetic" Spirit; and the appellation "Prophets'"' was fre- quently given to the Hagiographa and by Josephus ( Contr. Ap. i. 8) even to the historical books. Moreover, not only were the legal prescriptions ordained for the Prophets extended to the Hagiographa, but all the writers of the Psalms were expressly numbered among the Prophets (Herzfeld iii. 17) for the reason that the Bible designates them as Prophets and * [D^3^n3 means properly nothing more than something written, writings. It was probably not tised for any claas of writings at the first formation of the canon, bnt came gradually into use as a convenient designation of those other wri- tings, which being of too much variety of form and character to have any characteristic title, were discriminated from the two fixed classes, the law and the prophets, by this general term {e.g. other writings). — 0. A. B.] f [This was probably that they might follow the Books of Kings, being parallel with them in subject. — 0. A. B.J X [This was because it was regarded as a prologue to the Psalms, David being a descendant of Euth. — 0. A. B.] § [The natural order is that which places the Psalms first as representing the age of David, and then the Proverbs and Job as representing the Chokma-literature of the age of Solomon. QT. Perowne, Introd. p. 69„and Delitzsch Cam., Edin- burgh, 1871, Introd. p. 4.— J. B. H.l INTRODUCTION TO THE PSALTER. seers, 1 Chron. xxv. 1 sq. ; 2 Chron. xxix. 30 ; xxxv. 15 ; 1 Sam. y. 10. The Targum of Jona- than on the latter passage reverses the expression and styles the utterance of that which the prophetic Spirit inspires the "making of psalms." According to the fourfold Ethiopic di- vision of the Old Testament into Octateuch, Kings, Solomon and Proohets, the Psalms were classed with the second division. From the Alexandrian version originated also the title Psalter {^alrijpLov^ Old German ^a^iler), a coUective term for the "Book of Psalms" (Luke xx. 42; Acts i. 20), or "The Psalms" (Luke xxiv. 44). The latter word originally meant the music and playing of a string instrument; the former, the instrument itself; then by transfer the song sung to it, finaUy the collection of these songs, as Euthymius Zigabenus [Prczf. in Psalm. Ed. Le Moyne, pp. 172) rightfully remarked. It corresponds fully to the Hebrew mizmor, which occurs, however, only in the title of particular Psalms, and not as a title of the collection. It does not appear at all in the plural form in the Bible, being simply used to indicate the recital of certain Psalms [yid. \ 8, 2). The contents, and especially the religious character of these songs, is brought out more prominently by the word teffiloih. In Ps. Ixxii. 20 aU the prece- ding Psalms are coUectively designated by this word as "prayers of David," although Ps. xvii. is the only one within this division in which it is found in the superscription [Septuag. izpo- czvxii). Later still, it characterizes Pss. Ixxxvi., xc, cii., cxlii., as also Hannah's Psalm of praise, 1 Sam. xxi. 1.* The title tehillim is the usual superscription of the entire coUection, in short- ened form tillim, tillin, tilli, sometimes with, sometimes without se/er, i. e. (Book of ) Bymns, which designation Philo and Jerome also employ. The Masora employed the plural se/er tehilloth, and also constructed from the same root the form hallela, but only to designate Pss. cxiii.-cxix., and not the entire Psalter, as since Buxtorf has been often erroneously stated (c/. Delitzsch Commentar. ii. 530). [The Psalter is still the common Prayer and Hymn Book of the Christian Church, as it was that of the Jews. — P. S.] That these songs were designed to glorify God, is strikingly indicated by this superscrip- tion. The word occurs however with this special reference only in Ps. cxlv. (Septuag. alveaLq)^ but its appropriation as the title of the whole book, points to the fact, that we are not dealing with a lyrical Anthology of the Hebrews (De Wette), but with the original hymn-hook, especially designed for the worship of Ood in the congregation of Israel.] Vid. further ^3 and 5. § 2. AITTHORSHIP OP THE PSALMS. It is undoubtedly true, that the Psalms, collected in the library of the Temple, 2 Mace, ii. 13, by Nehemiah, were designated ra tov Aavl6, and that the Psalms are cited in the New Testament as the words of David. But we are- not obliged on that account to assume, that David was the author of all the Psalms. This opinion has been defended of late by Clauss • [Beitrdge 1831, S. 4sq.), and among the Jews by M. Eandegger {Hist. hrit. Versuche 1841), after the Talmud {Tract. Pesachim, c. 10) and a few of the Church fathers, (Augustine, Chry- sostom, Euthym.) Neither are we obliged to explain those cases, where other persons, than he, are referred to with Lamed in the superscriptions, by assuming that those persons were the subjects of, or the occasions of his writing these Psalms ; nor that David was prophetically speaking in their stead. This is quite as ungrammatical as it is unhistorical. For the Lamed before the proper name does not always indicate strictly the authorship, but properly relationship or dependence. We shall have occasion to make use of this remark in those cases where the contents of the Psalm correspond neither with the personality nor the period of the one, whose name it bears. * [Kelttzsch : " The nature of prayer is the direct and fixed looking to God, the absorption of the Spirit in thinking of Him. All the Psalms share in this nature of prayer, even the didactic and hymnic which have no prayerful address." — C. A. B.] f [Perowne : " A more suitable title could, perhaps, hardly be found ; for thanksgiving is the very life of the Paalms, even of those in which there breathes most the language of complaint. ' To the glory of God ' might stand as tlie inscrip- tion of each. The narrative Psalms praise, whilst they record His mighty deeds ; the didactic Psalms declare His goodness as worthy of grateful acknowledgment ; the Psalms of sorrow are turned into songs of joy, in the recollection or anticipt^ tlou of His saving help."— 0. A. B.] g2. AUTHORSHIP OF THE PSALMS. 8 The Psalm may be referred to him perhaps in a wider sense as being composed after hia model or in his style ; or the reference is to the musical director or the choir (e. g., Ps. xxxix.), to which the Psalm had been given for practice and recital. In most cases, however, the ^ prefixum indicates the author, and there are historical grounds for the view that other histo- rical persons than David, distinguished likewise in the domain of sacred song, were by this designation to be put in the same relation to certain Psalms, and that it was by no means the intention of the authors of the superscriptions to make David the author of all the Psalms. And when the collection is generally designated as a Davidic composition, or when^ as in later days, it was superscribed or collectively characterized in the language of the Church as the Psalter of David, or abbreviated as at the end of the Ethiopic translation, e. g., Finitus est David (Dorn De psalterio Ethiop. 1825, p. 9)^-or when in occasional citations it is briefly called David ; these are not historical or critical statements, but simply show a prevailing usage of certain periods, traces of which are found as early as 2 Chron. vii. 6. Comp. xxiii. 18; Ezra iii. 10. Its justification is found in the maxim "^ potiorifit denominatio." It pro- bably originated from the statement at the close of Ps. Ixxii., which was also the final state- ment of the oldest collection of Psalms. Comp. ^4. A spurious writing, called " David," is mentioned in Constit. Aposi., vi. 16 ; but is otherwise unknown. From a historical point of view, however, there are but seventy-two Psalms ascribed to David by superscriptions of the kind referred to. These are partly associated with statements concerning their historical occasion, contents, and purpose, and their liturgical and musical use (comp. § 8 and 12). The value of the superscriptions is disputed, their origin being un- certain, their contents frequently obscure, if not entirely unintelligible, whilst their influence in enabling us to understand the Psalms in question is unimportant. It is not surprising, therefore, that doubts should have been advanced respecting them as early as .the time of Theodorus Mops. But the thoroughgoing doubts of their authenticity which have been advanced since Vogel, [Inscrip, psalmorum serius demum additas videri, 1767) which with De Wette and still more decidedly Hupfeld, have advanced to the unreasonable extreme of entirely rejecting the use of these titles as unreliable and therefore worthless, as being for the most part addi- tions which have originated from the mere conjectures of later readers and compilers (so pre- viously Rudinger), are entirely unreasonable. The assumption on the other hand, that all these superscriptions originated with the authors of the Psalms, and are therefore inseparable from the text, cannot be consistently maintained. It can, at most, be held only of a few, and it is all the more important, that in- dividual cases should be strictly scrutinized. This has been doneln earlier times by Venema, and more recently by all the most eminent commentators. Useful remarks on these critical investigations may be found in lAitz,Biblische Hermeneutik, S. 461, who, however, regards the most of these superscriptions as later scholia. On the whole an opinion favorable to the an- tiquity and value of these superscriptions has again been wrought out, which ascribes them for the most part to tradition, and indeed a very ancient one, because they were generally unintelligible to the Septuag., were variously constructed, and divided by these translators, and sometimes in their reference to the occasion and contents of the Psalms, they rather pro- duce difficulties than remove them. Comp. Fr. Bleek, Einleitung in das A. T., 1860, S. 613 f. There is now a disposition to admit, that some of them may have originated with the authors themselves. It is true, that among the Israelites, poets were still less accustomed than among the Arabians and Persians to prefix their names to their songs. But when we compare the superscription of Ps. Ix. with 2 Sam. i. 18, we cannot deny the possibility of David's having done so; and when this is seen to have been the case with the prophet Habakkuk (iii. 1)^ shall we not conclude that the Psalmist also may have done the same ? The writings of Sonntag on the Tituli Psalmorum 1687, Celsius 1718, and Irhof 1728, have become anti- quated. J. A. Starck, Davidis aliorumque poetarum Hebr. carminum libr. V. (incomplete), 1776, 1. 2, p. 411 ff., however, is still worthy of attention. The best work is Delitzsch Sym^ bolcR ad Psalmos illustrandos isagogicce, 1846. He points in his Comm. II., 393, to the "An- nals of David" as a work different from the books of Samuel, and yet made use of aa one of their sources. INTRODUCTION TO THE PSALTER. Moreover the Psalms which bear the name of David, contain an abundance of references, expressions, and peculiar turns, which do not at all make the impression of mere poetical figures, but bear the stamp of the liveliness and truth of individuality, they refer to personal experiences and frames of mind, and the statements of the sacred Scriptures about David's fortune, character, and utterances, often present the only key to their historical interpreta- tion. J, J. Stahelin [Das Lehen Davids, 1866) acknowledges this, under many limitations, it is true, while according to Zunz [Die synagogale Poesie des Mittelalters, 1855, S. 4) they are only the legends of the chiefs of the Levites, and those who are said to have been the origi- nators of the temple music, who made David the author of the Psalms, and even raised him to the dignity of a seer. These Psalms are as manifold in contents, tone, and color, as the agitated life of David himself, and reflect most instructively, as in a mirror, the changing emotions of a heart as tender as it was brave, "We hear his cry of anguish and his shout of joy ; the tearful wail of sorrow and the courageous expression of his trust in God ; the peni- tential prayer of the broken-hearted sinner, the joyful thanksgiving of the favored one, the wisdom of an experienced sufierer who knows that his life is hid in God, the shepherd's voice of the prince, the royal word of the hero, the prophetic utterance of the seer. And here let us remember, that the rise of a sacred literature among God's people of Israel is not simply a matter of literary and historic interest, but an important /acior in the history of the Divine Revelation and the kingdom of God, The person of David, moreover, occupies such a prominent place in this history, that, in connection with his poetical talent, clearly attested by his song of mourning at Jonathan's death, 2 Sam, i. 19-27; his youthful musical endowments accord- ing to 1 Sam. xvi. 17 f ; the daily cultivation of his art according to 1 Sam. xviii. 10, the as- sertion of Lengerke [Comm. p. xxvi. sq.) that David was not a religious poet, is as ground- less as the statement of Vatke [Bib. Theol., I. 292) that not a single Psalm can with any cer- tainty be put in the age of David and Solomon. On the other hand, Delitzsch's remark is worthy of consideration [Covim. i. 59) : *' As the New Testament canon contains no writings of the Apostles before the day of Pentecost, so the Old Testament canon contains none of the songs of David prior to his anointing. Only when he has become * the anointed of the God of Jacob ' is he the sweet singer of Israel, on whose tongue is the word of Jehovah (2 Sam. xxiii. 1 sq.)." Appropriate remarks are to be found in Fr. W. Krummacher's "David, der Konig von Israel ,- ein hiblisches Lebensbild mit fortlaufenden Beziehungen aufdie Davidlschen Fsalmen," 1866. We have but a single psalm (xc.) of a date anterior to the time of David : one which in contents and language bears the mark of great antiquity, assigned in the superscription to Moses. Two Psalms are ascribed to Solomon, Ixxii. and cxxvii., against which nothino- deci- sive can be urged, however difficult the removal of some objections may be, and notwith- standing the fact, that Ps. cxxvii. has no superscription in the Septuag. A prominent place in this department is taken by Asaph in- the recollection of history (2 Chron. xxix. 30 ; Neh. xii. 46). Twelve Psalms in our collection bear his name. Pss. 1. and Ixxiii.— Ixxxiii. These cannot all, however, be assigned to Asaph, the Levite, son of Bare- chia, the renowned chorister of David. For Ps. Ixxxiii, belongs to the time of ' Jehoshaphat ; Pss. Ixxv. and Ixxvi. to the time of Hezekiah ; Pss. Ixxiv. and Ixxix. to the beginning of the Chaldean exile (comp. Keil in Havernick's Handbuch der EinL, III. 213 sq.). *It has there- fore been generally assumed, that Asaph is here a family name. This view is favored by the circumstance, that this family was in existence at the time of Jehoshaphat, 2 Chron. xx 14 and that of the 245 singers, male and female, who returned from the exile (Nehem vii 47 / the majority were Asaphites ; 128 according to Ezra ii. 41, and indeed 148 according to Ne- hem. vii. 44. The conjecture that an imitation of Asaph's style simply is indicated bv th' superscription is less probable. The entire group has, in fact, a certain family likeness not only in its freshness and liveliness of expression, and in individual peculiarities of its loftv style, but especially in a sort of prophetic way of treating historical events and the recognition of Divine providence in them. It must however be admitted, that the imitation of a style stamped with the peculiar'f of Asaph within his family, has a parallel in the common features of the Psalms of tho ofKorah. ^^ g 2. AUTHORSHIP OF THE PSALMS. Eleven Psalms are ascribed, in the superscriptions to the sons of Korah, viz. : xlii. — ^xlix. Ixxxiv., Ixxxv., Ixxxvii., Ixxxviii. [vide Carpzov, Introductio II., 97). Ps. Ixxxviii. ought probably to be excluded from this group. The others, in the longings which they express for the worship of Ood in the holy city, have some similarity, it is true, with many of the Psalms of David, yet we are not, on that ground to ascribe their authorship to David, nor to suppose that their musical execution simply was assigned to the sons of Korah (Eichhorn). For they are not a mere echo of the songs of David. On the contrary, they move quite characteristi- cally, with a lofty style, full of earnestness of soul, in songs of praise to Elohim, the king en- throned in Jerusalem. And while in the superscriptions of the Psalms of Asaph the faDiily disappears in the name of its renowned ancestor and pattern, the personality of Korah does not appear at all in those of the group which bears the name. For Hema;i the Ezrahite, alluded to inPs. IxxxviiL, is not the leader of the Kohrite choir, 1 Chron. vi. 18 sq., but one of the four wise men of Israel, 1 Kings v. 11, of the tribe of Judah. We must also bear in mind that Korah, the great-grandson of Levi, was taken away by a Divine judgment, Num. xvi. ; that representatives of his family, however, were not only preserved (Num. xxvi. 11), but were close adherents of David (1 Chron. xiii. 6) especially the watchmen at the gates of the temple (1 Chron. ix. 17; xxiv. 1-19 ; Neh. xi. 19), furnishing also a portion of the sing- ers and musicians of the sanctuary (1 Chron. xxv.) The latter are alluded to in the time of Jfehoshaphat, 2 Chron. xx. 19 ; the former even after the exile. Ps. Ixxxix. has a strong resemblance to the Psalm of Heman the Ezrahite, Ps. Ixxxviii. The suTjerscription assigns it to Ethan the Ezrahite, who also appears to belong to the tribe of Judah, (1 Kings v. 11 ; 1 Chron. ii. 6), and is only with violence identified by a few com- mentators with Ethan the Merarite, of the tribe of Levi, 1 Chron. xv. 17 ; vi. 29 sq., because he is mentioned alongside of Asaph and Heman as the leader of the Kohrite choir. There-are fifty anonymous Psalms in our collection. Thirty-four of these have no superscription whatever, whence they have in the Talmud been called the orphaned Psalms. At all events, they are not to be assigned to the authors of the Psalms immediately preceding, according to the opi- nion of the Talmud, Origen, Hilarius, and Jerome, which has been controverted in detail by Jahn Einleitung IL, 706. The Septuag. ascribes the authorship of several of them to the pro- phets Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Haggai, and Zechariah, apparently as mere conjectures [vid. Eich- horn Einleit., ^ 622).* * [J. F. Thmpp, in Smith's Diet, of tlu. Bible, adopts the following theory respecting the Psalms ascribed to David : " If now in the times posterior to those of David the Levito choirs prefixed to the Psalms which they composed the names of Asaph, Heman, and Ethan, out of a feeling of veneration for their memories, how much more might the name of David be prefixed to the utterance&of those who were not merely his descendants, but also the representatives for the time being, and so in some sort the pledges of the perpetual royalty of his lineage ! The name David is used to denote, in other parts of Scripture, after the original David's d^ath, the then head of the Davidic family ; and so, in prophecy, the Messiah of the Beed of David, who was to sit on David's throne (1 Ki. xii. 6 ; Hos. iii. 5 ; Is. Iv. 3 ; Jer. xxx. 9 ; Ez. xxxiv. 23, 24). And thus th<^n, we may explain the meaning of the later Davidic superscriptions in the Psalter. The Psalms to which thpy be- long wero written by Ilezekiah, by Josiah, by Zerubbabel, or others of David's posterity." This view has the analogy of the Psalms of Asaph and the sons of Korah in its favor, but it is unnecessary until some of the Davidic Psalms have been proved to be of a later time, which is not the case at present, at least with any certainty, with any of them. Of those Psalms without titles several of them are intimately connected with the preceding Psalms (Pss. xxxiiL, Ixxi., etc.), some were ori- ginally one with them (Pss. ix. and x. ; xlii. and xliii., etc.), and thus the same author is evident. Others show by their peculiarities of style, ideas, and expressions, that they belong to the same author, whether known or unknown. Thus the most of the orphan Psalms are in the last two books, and belong to groups. The group Pss. xcii. — c., belong to the same author, as Ewald (Dichter II., 349) shows. The group cxi.^<;xviii. he assigns to two authors, but there are some reasons why they should belong to the same author, especially the Egyptian Hallel (Pss. cxiii. — cxviii.). Ewald likewise assigns fourteen of the Pilgrim songs (Ps. cxx. — cxxxiv.) to the same author as Ps. Ixxxvii. (assigned in the title to the sons of Korah) and the remaining pilgrim song, Ps. cxxxii., to the same author as Pa. Ixxxix. (assigned in the title to Ethan the Ezrahite). This might be accepted, save so far as the pilgrim songs assigned to David (Pss. cxxii., cxxiv. cxxxi., *xxxiii.) ■ and Sol imon (Ps. cxxvii.)are concerned, the older ones of David and Solomon being the models after which the Levitical singers composed their later productions. Still further he regards Pss. cv., cxxxv. and cxxxvi. ; cxlv.^l. and xxxiii., as from the same author. Now Ps. cxlv. is assigned to David, and Ps. xxxiii. is closely connected with Ps. xxxii. He denies the authority of the title of the former and the connection of the latter, but his error in this respect does not overthrow Ma arguments for the same author. Hengstenberg finds six unknown authors : one of Pss. xci.^c, another of Pss. civ. — evil., a third of Pss. cxi. — cxix., a fourth of the 10 pilgrim songs which are without titles, a fifth of Pss. cxxxv. — cxxxvii., and Ps. cxlvi., a sixth of Pss. cxlvii. — cl. From these attempts of Ewald and Hengstenberg to group t^ e Psalms under various unknown authors we may, whilst doubting some of their conclusions, be guided to more satisfactory results. A more careful comparative utudy of the Psalma as to their theological and ethical ideas, their figurative expressions, and INTRODUCTION TO THE PSALTER. § 3. HISTORY OF THE COMPOSITION OF PSALMS. The present collection of Psalms was intended for use in the Divine service of the congre- gation of Israel (^ 1 and 5) ; yet this does not imply that all the particular Psalms were comr- posed with this directly in view. This is undoubtedly the case with some of them ; but with others we can scarcely imagine any other origin than that they originaUy sounded forth from the heart in the very times and circumstances referred to in the superscription, and that they were ajfterwards put into their present poetical form, and indeed by "their authors actually becoming absorbed in these circumstances, and with the definite purpose of aflbrding to the entire church of the Lord, and especially to those who were afliicted and in need of consola- tion, a share in the grace which they had then received." (Otto Von Gerlach : Das A. T. mit Einleitungen und erkldrenden AnmerJcungen herausgegeben, Bd. iii., p. xii. 3 Ausg., 1854). Yet it seems to be inadmissible with Hengstenberg to extend this reference to the congrega- tion, which is true of all the Psalms with respect to their liturgical use and their devotional application, likewise to their origin. At the other extreme of one-sidedness De Wette, fol- lowing Eichhorn, attempts to explain almost everything from external events, historic occur- rences and personal situations, and by this means frequently falls into wholly untenable re- ferences to later times and to the conflicts of Israel with heathen nations. In the search for occasions, however, the particular circumstances of the poet are worthy of all consideration. So likewise for the purposes of exposition, the historical surroundings and associations of in- dividual Psalms deserve all attention. Even though sharp-sighted ingenuity in discovering and pointing out these circumstances may be carried to excess, as with Hitzig, they are yet of great importance for the understanding of the Psalms as even Hupfeld admits. Poetical endowment and religious vitality are to be brought into consideration as conditions of the ori- gin of these spiritual songs, just as other kinds of poetical and musical productions are pre- supposed as the general historic basis of their poetical form. The proper source of their ori- gin, however, is in the /rwc^i/?ca^iowo/ a poe^ica% gifted Israelite by the Spirit of Jehovah. The generic conception of the Psalm therefore implies three things ; 1. That it belongs to the lyric poetry of the Hebrews ; 2. That it originated /rom a member of the Church of God in Israel. 3. That it be composed under the positive influence of the Spirit of Jehovah. Thus David de- signates his Psalms as songs of Israel, 2 Sam. xxiii. 1. Thus the Psalmist described his poem as a song of Jehovah, Ps. xlii. 9, and himself, xlix. 5, as a man who must first attend to that which is unfolded to him, before he can venture to instruct ; for the laying open, that is, reve- lation of the word of Jehovah, has a power of illumination, Ps. cxix. 130. The Psalms are therefore to be regarded as sacred poetry not simply on account of their religious character, but especially on account of their theopneustio origin. This peculiarity alone entitles them to a place in the canon of sacred scriptures ; for while the second named peculiarity renders pos- sible their use in the Divine service of the Church, the first secures for them their peculiar po- sition in the canon, and that particular character of which we shall speak more fully here- after. Two things, however, need to be emphasized here : first, that the degree of the Spirifs influence upon the soul of the Psalmist may be very various without destroying its inspira- tional character ; and secondly, that inspiration, as likewise in the case of the prophets, does not at all exclude the imitation of models, or the use of the works of their predecessors. These remarks are derived from the facts which reflect the historic course of their compo- sition. Their historical origin synchronizes neither with the beginning of revelation nor of religious lyrics. Both are older than the establishment of the Israelitish Church. First among them resounds that most ancient of Psalms, " the prayer of Moses, the man of God " as yet without strophaic members, yet striding with threatening tread above all the heights and above all the depths of life. The Church shows itself to be the birth-place of the Psalter • its founder was the first who interpreted her emotions.* But his powerful and dread-inspi- their lyrical and strophaic forms, as well as their grammatical and etymological peculiarities will enahle us to discern the authors of many of the Psalms without titles, and thus the number of the Psalms of David, and Solomon, and Asaph and the songs of Korab, and Ethan may be increased rather than diminished.— 0. A. B.] * [" The time of Moses was the time of Israel's birth as a nation, and also of its national lyric. The Isf-aelites brontrht Instruments with them out of Egypt, and these were the accompauiments of their first eong (Ex. xr.)— the oldest hymn. § 3. HISTORY OF THE COMPOSITION OF PSALMS. ring voice still remained for centuries solitary within its domain. Not until after the centu- ries of severe conflicts and complications which succeeded the entrance of the covenant peo- ple into the land of promise ; not until the reformatory labors of Samuel, and indeed not without the influence of the Schools of the Prophets founded by him, with their exercises in music and in song ; not until the establishment of the kingdom, when Israel had gained through rich experiences a new position in the world ; and then in equally great strength, abundance and beauty, the sacred song resounded from David's harp, and in this king of pro- mise the singing and composition of Psalms found a master and a patron. Four thousand Levites, the entire fourth division of them, exercised their official functions as singers and musicians under his direction in the service of God ; now in the tabernacle upon Zion, now in Gibeon, the place of the Mosaic tabernacle of the covenant, 1 Chron. xv. 16. So like- wise an organized culture was maintained under the choristers Asaph, Heman and Ethan, (identical probably with Jeduthun), 1 Chron. xxiv. No wonder, then, that the Davidic type of Psalms invited others to imitation, down to the latest times, nor that incited partly by the stimulus of new forms of culture, types so strongly characteristic, as those of Asaph and Korah should have arisen. Let us add to that which has already been remarked in ^ 2 con- cerning the character of these groups of Psalms, that both manifest their adaptation to the Church and to the worship at Jerusalem, associated with definite historic events. In the Psalms of Asaph, however, God appears predominant as the judge of His enemies, and repeatedly as speaking, whilst He is presented in the songs of Korah rather as the King who watches over Jerusalem. Comp. J. J. Siahelin, 2!ur Einleitung in die Psalmen, 1859, S. 14 f. Spezielle Einleitung in die Kanon.Bucher des A. T., 1862, S. 381, 391. But we see from the history of Solomon how insufficient mere poetical endowments were to make a Psalmist. For this king was celebrated for his wisdom,. and highly praised as a writer and a poet, even if the assertion of 1 Kings v. 12, (iv. 32) be not, that he composed 3000 proverbs and 1005 songs, but that he simply spake them. In any case the superscrip- tion to the Song of Solomon refers, according to Semitic usage (Ewald) to still other songs of Solomon. Among the Psalms, however, there are but two which bear his name. This striking circumstance is explained by the character of the other Solomonic writings and by the statement of 1 Kings v. 13 (iv. 33) that he spake of trees, cattle, birds, creeping things and fishes. Whether this is an allusion to his acquaintance with natural history (Keil in Havernick's Einl.) or to secular poetry (Hengst.) or to proverbs and fables, classi- fied according to the animal kingdom (Hupf.), in either case nature and human life were the subjects of which he chiefly treated, and proverbial wisdom {chohhma) especially in the form of sentences {maschal) is associated with his name, as the Psalms are with that of his father David, and both with good historic reasons. According to a statement in the Septuag. appended to 1 Kings viii. 53, the matter there narrated, had been made the subject of a song. The influence of David was so strongly felt still later acording to Amos vi. 5, that the secular poetry and music bore traces of it. There the reference is to those who practiced tricks with the accompaniment of the harp, and beUeved themselves to equal David in their musical performances, or, according to another view devised for themselves similar things to those of David. But although prophetic discourse was now being powerfuUy developed, and although in the period of the Kings we have evidence of the exercise of the poetic art, we possess but two Psalms of the days of Solomon, those of the Ezrahites, Heman and Ethan. During the entire period of the division of the kingdom we have but two revivals of the composition of Psalms of the Asaphic and Kohrite types. For such Psalm-Uke fragments as Jonah ii.. Is. xii., Habakkuk iii., are but transformations or free renderings of older songs. As such truly they are important witnesses both of the presence and of the vitaHty of the Psahns in the hearts of pious Israelites. Both of these revivals, however, fall precisely which re-echoes through all the hymns of the following ages, and alBO through the Psalter. • I^^^^ffJ" ^^^ ^'■^% and xixii we then have the prototypes of all Psalms, the hymnic, elegiac and prophetico-didactic. All three classes of pongs are s'till wanting in the strophic symmetry which characterizes the later art. But even Deborah s song of victory- a song of triumph composed eight centuries before Pindar, and far outstripping him-exhibits to ufl the strophac art ap- proximating to ita perfect development." Deutzsoh's Com. Introd., p. 8.^J. B. H.] 8 INTRODUCTION TO THE PSALTER. within the period of the restoration and purification of the worship of Jehovah, first under Jehoshaphat, then under Hezekiah, both times immediately following great deeds of judgment and deliverances of the Lord. Jehoshaphat had the education of the people especially in view, 2 Chron. xvii. 7 sq., Hezekiah [" the Pisistratus of Israelitish literature." Delitzsch.— J. B. H.], the preservation of the remains of their literatui'e and the restoration of their ancient sacred music and the liturgical use of the Psalms, 2 Chron. xxix. 2b sq. He was himself also a poet, intimately familiar with the Book of Job, as is clear from Is. xxxviii. Entirely in harmony with this is the fact that during the exile the composition of Psalms was not entirely suspended. Ps. cii. certainly belongs to this period, and others readily remind us of the prophet Jeremiah, although not to such an extent as Hitzig assumes, [Begriff der Kritik, S. 63 ff.) But their harps still hung upon the willows, Ps. cxxxvii. 2, and a full and fresh stream of new Psalms burst forth from the heart of the Church, only when led back to their native land by the hand of God, and permitted to pray in the restored temple. The most of the Psalms in the last two books belong to this period of the second temple. The question now arises whether the religious exaltation of the Jewish people in the time of the Maccabees caused a new harvest of sacred song to sprout forth. Hitzig, von Lengerke and Olshausen, believe this to have been extensively the case, as Budinger, Venema, Bengel, et al. had pre- viously maintained. The reasons for an opposite opinion are very fuliy developed by Ewald {Jahrb. der bibl. Wissenschaft, ii. 20 f.) and by E. Meyer, Geschichte der poet. Naiionalliter- aiur der Heb. 1856, S. 496 sq., ^71 sq. It is going too far, however, to affirm the impossibility of such being the case. The Psalm-like passages 1 Mac. vii. 37 sq., ix. 21 ; 2 Mac. i. 24 sq., xiv. 35 sq., xv. 22 sq., have, it is true a very prosaic character, and various opinions may be held concerning Sirach 1. 22-24, from which Martin Einkart drew our hymn, " Nun danket alle GottJ' Thenius [Studien und Krit.'lSb^, Heft. 3), regards these words as the only proof of a temple Psalm of this period. Delitzsch {Zur Geschichte der nachbibl. Judischen Poesie, 1836, S. 182) regards it as a pithy fragment of a liturgical thanksgiving hymn of the Church. D. F. Fritzsche {Exeg. Handbuch zu den Apokryph., v. 303) however, regards it as the epi- logue to the praise of the Father, a summons to the reader to give thanks. A prophetico-lyri- cal exaltation cannot but be recognized, however, in the pseudo-epigraphic Psalter of Solomon consisting of eighteen Psalms, translated from the Aramaic into Greek, in Fabricius Cod. pseudoepigr. V. T. 1, 917, which Ewald Jahrbuch xi. 215 ; Geschichte, 3 Aufi. iv. 392, and Dillmann, in Herzog, EeaUEncycl xii. 305, place in the period of the Maccabees ; Movers, in Kathol. Kirchenlexikon von Wetze and Welter i. 340, and Delitzsch, Comment, ii. 381, still later in the Herodian period, while Gratz, Geschichte der Juden iii. 3, 491, even regards it as Chris- tian. We may also allude to the lyrical additions which have found their way from the Septuag. into the German Bible, as Apocryphal fragments belonging to Daniel and Chron. But all this furnishes no decisive answer to the question as to the existence of Maccabean Psalms in the canonical Psalter. Against such a supposition in general stands the circum- stance, which even Hupfeld regards as decisive, that the Psalter was known as such as early as the time of the Chronicles ( Vid. I 4,) and the assumption of later interpolations is a pure hypothesis. Nevertheless, our decision in concreto must depend upon the result of our inves- tigations in individual Psalms. I 4. THE COLLECTION AND ARRANGEMENT OF THE PSALMS. The Psalter begins in its present form with a pair of anonymous Psalms of a didactic and prophetic character, which were regarded, as early as the Jerusalem Talmud, Tract taa- nith2, 2, as one Psalm commencing and ending with beatitudes. The Psalter ' closes" also with four anonymous Psalms (cxlvi.— cxlix.) which similarly begin and end with hal- lelujahs. For Ps. cl. is simply an amplified doxology, similar to the shorter ones found at the end of each of the four preceding groups of Psalms. These doxologies, however so like the liturgical beracha of the second temple, are not of the same date as the Psalms which imme diately precede them. They were subsequently added for liturgical use, especially for public reading (Delitzsch, Symbol(B, p. 19). In this way five books arose, constituted as follows :* • [Hilary (likewise Cassiodorus, Jerome, and Auguetiae) mentiooB thia division, but feels bound, on the authority of St g4. THE COLLECTION AND ARRANGEMENT OF THE PSALMS. 0 Tne bulk of the first book, which, closes with Ps. xli., consists of thirty-seven Davidic Psalms, among which, exciuBive of the two introductory Psalms, only two are anonymous, (x., xxxiii.)* Jehovah is the prevailing name of God. The second book (Ps. xlii. — ^Ixxii.) begins with seven Kohrite Psalms, their succession uninterrupted except by one (xliii.) ano- nymous Psalm. [This is without doubt a part of Ps. xlii. — C. A. B.] Then follows an Asaphic Psalm (lix.) followed by a succession of eighteen Davidic Psalms, interrupted by two (Ixvi., Ixvii.), anonymous [these are likewise Davidic, vid. in loco. — C. A. B.], concluding after Ps. Ixxi. (anonymous) [Ps. Ixxi. belongs to Ps. Ixx., vid. in loco. — C. A. B.], with a Psalm of Solomon (Ixxii.) The prevailing name of God in this group is Elohim. The third book (Pss. IxxiiL^lxxix.) begins with eleven Psalms of Asaph, followed by four Kohrite Psalms, with one Davidic Psalm interposed (Ixxxvi.), closing with the Messianic Psalm of Ethan. Here the name of God is sometimes Jehovah and sometimes Elohim. The super- scriptions frequently contain, not so often however as in the second book, brief historic refe- rences to the occasion of their composition, often, moreover, musical references. The fourth book (Pss. xc. — cvi.) begins with the prayer of Moses, and then, with the exception of two Psalms of David (ci., ciii.) introduces only anonymous Psalms, with now and then a brief notice of the purpose of their composition. The only name of God in this collection is Je- hovah, f The fifth book, finally, (Ps. cvii. — cl.) begins with a Psalm without superscription introducing then, three Davidic Psalms, three hallelujah Psalms, six without superscriptions, followed by fifteen Psalms of degrees, among which one (cxxvii.) bears the name of Solomon, and two (cxxi., cxxxiii.) the name of David ; — then again one hallelujah Psalm, two without superscriptions, seven Davidic, and finally the four hallelujah Psalms, introducing the closing doxology. Here also Jehovah is the prevailing name of Deity. It appears, even in this general sketch, that the arrangement is not a confused mixture of an accidental or opportune aggregation, and that no classification, either by the order of their composition, their subject matter, or their authorship, is consistently carried out. This fact is confirmed in considering the contents, origin, and date of particular Psalms. Now, although a very early liturgical use of the Psalms may be proven {vid. § 5), yet apart from the above-mentioned division into five books, by concluding doxologies, no liturgical or dogmatic principle of arrangement is manifest. Hippolytus states that this fivefold division {Ed. de La- garde, p. 193) was made with reference to the Pentateuch. The entire rejection of such a mo- tive by Jahn and De Wette, is without grounds. We may say with Delitzsch, " The Psalter is also a Pentateuch, — the echo of the books of Moses, from the heart of Israel ; — ^it is the five books of the Church to Jehovah, as the Thorah is the five books of Jehovah to the Church." But while this reference was in the mind of the Jewish church, and actuated the Redac- teur, who added the doxologies, probably with reference also to the symbolical significance of the number five (Stahelin, Spez. Einl., S. 379 f.) it allows no parallelization of the sepa- rate books, and explains, neither their connection nor their sequence. With still less pro- priety can we adopt the language of the Midrash on Ps. i.: " Moses gave to the Israelites the five books of the Thorah, corresponding to which David gave them the five books of Psalms." It can hardly be supposed that the present sequence and division of the whole col- lection was independent of preceding arrangements. It cannot certainly be shown that the first book was the oldest collection (Bengel),t and that the four other books, originating from repeated gleanings, were successively added, (Jahn, De Wette, Hupfeld). Other combina- tions may be suggested, and attempts may be made at the discovery of special collections, with possible additions and supplements {vid. Berthold, Einl. Y. 2020 f., Ewald, Foef. Paul (Acts i. 20) to reject it. No allusion to it is found in many of the English Commentaries, and it is mentioned by Al- exander only to be rejected, although fully recognized by Hengstenberg (Com., Vol. IV., p. 596 f., 1852) upon whose labors his work is chiefly based. It is now, however, generally recognized, e. g., Perowne, Barnes, Wordsworth, et al. The latter even discovers a harmony of arrangement, and a progressive development of Chiistological features, in the successive bookSj which, at least, in the form in which he presents them, appear more ingenious than well grounded.— J. B. H.] * [And these really belong to David, Ps. x. being the second part of Ps. ix., and Ps. xxxiii. in close connection with Pa, Xtixii,, vid. in loco. — C. A, B.] t [According to Bwald there is no reason why Ps. cvi. should have been separated from Ps. cvii. It appears to have been so sundered by the last compiler or Redacteur to make up the five-fold division. — J. B. H ] X [Perowne introduces strong reasons in support of this view in his Introd., p. 75 f., 2 Ed., 1870.— J. B. H.] 10 INTRODUCTION TO THE PSALTER. Bucher I., 187 f., Neue Ausarbeitung I.; 242 ff. ; Jahrh IV., 252 f., VI. 20 1, and DeUtzsch in Herzog's Real-Encykl. XII., 267, who also alludes to Hofmann's hypothesis of nine sepa- rate collections). Moreover it cannot be denied after the profound investigations of De- litzsch [Symbolce, etc.) that it is more natural to ascribe to the hand of the last Bedacteur the grouping in the second and third books of kindred Psalms of an earlier and later date^ than to refer the rise of separate collections exclusively to later times or to assume a fre- quently repeated interpolation. Although a classification of Psalms containing noticeably similar thoughts, or strikingly similar passages, especially at the beginning and close, has been proven in many series of Psalms, and rendered probable in others, yet we must admit that the last compiler (whom there is no reason for distinguishing from a Bedacteur Herzfeld, III., 5, 6), arranged the entire material at his command according to certain points of view, and frequently violated the order of time in favor of an arrangement with reference to the subject matter. But this, however, could not have occurred except upon the basis of older collections, and in connection with classifications already existing. Such a view is especially favored from the circumstance, that the second book concludes, after the doxology, with these words, " The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended." This sentence cannot have originated with the last compiler, for many Davidic Psalms are scattered through all the following books, singly, and in little groups. This sentence, then, points to another collection. There can also be no doubt that a collection of the Psalms of David, was begun soon after the death of the great royal singer [vid. Ewald's Geschichte 3, Aufl. iii. 360.*) This expression, no longer applicable, was still retained, and for proof that this is not without a parallel vid. Stahelin, Zur Einl. S. 12, in opposition to Hengstenberg, iv. 2, S. 267, and Keil in Havernick, iii. 295. The doxology was naturally placed before this closing sentence, and gives to God the name of Jehovah Elohim, in conformity with the character of the second book, and in contrast with that of the first. Since these doxologies are of later origin and have simply a liturgical significance, they furnish nothing conclusive in regard to the age and origin of the individual collections. But it had not escaped the notice of the ancient Jewish teachers, that this collection, expressly characterized as Davidic not only contains Psalms of unknown authorship, several Asaphic and Kohrite Psalms (and among the latter, some which unquestionably belong to a very late period) ; but that the con- cluding sentence which we are considering, is found at the end of a Psalm of Solomon. The enigma thus presented to the Jews is exemplified by the narrative in the Midrasch on Ps. iii. : " When Joshua Ben Levi undertook to revise the arrangement of the Psalms an echo from heaven cried to him, ' Wake not the slumberer 1' " Many of the Psalms doubtless received their present position from the final redaction, although it is conjectural that indi- vidual transpositions and insertions were made at each succeeding addition of new groups to the original stem, which we have suflficient reason to regard in general as the first, (Ewald) or the first and second books (Delitzsch). Hitzig (ii. p. xii.) finds an intentional 'reference to the Sanhedrists and the purported number of interpreters, and the days occupied in their labor, in the number of the Ps. (72) with which the second book ends. (Josephus Archdol xii. 2, 6, 10.) ' After the time of Solomon, that of Jehoshaphat or, with still more likelihood that of Hezekiah, may be regarded as the probable period of such a compilation and revision. For we read not only that the men of Hezekiah made a copy of the proverbs of Solomon (Prov. XXV. 1,) but that he restored the use of the Psalms of David and of Asaph 2 Chron xxix. 30 sq. Carpzov, Introd. ii. 106 sq. The majority of the latter, however, are contained in the third book of the Psalms. A subsequent collection of sacred literature took place under the direction of Nehemiah 2 Mac. ii. 13, in which the writings of David are especially alluded to, while in Zech. vii' 12, they are closely associated with the Law and the Prophets; and Ecclesiastes ' xii' * [This labor is believed by Perowne to have been executed by Solomon, who would naturally provide for the preserva- tion and tranamission of his father's poetry, as he is also known to have provided for the rendering of the musi al ser vices of the Temple in the utmost magnificence.— J. B. H.J §4. THE COLLECTION AND ARRANGEMENT OP THE PSALMS. H 12, in contrast to profane literature, refers to a collection of genuine wisdom. Similar col- lections occurred finally under Judas Maccabseus, 2 Mac. ii. 14. This must also have been the period of the final collection. For, contrary to the assumption of Olshausen, et aL, that we must come down to the times of Simon, the Hasmonean prince (143 to 135 B. c.) or to the time of John Hyrcanus (135-107 b. c.) this circumstance seems conclusive ; that the Psalter was known as such, to the author of Chronicles, who wrote in the fourth century b. c, towards the end of the Persian rule, and was accepted into the canon, at the latest, in the times of Judas Maccabseus (Ewald, Geschichte vii. 428 sq.) It follows, moreover, from 1 Chron. xvi. 35, that the liturgical doxology which precedes Ps. cvi. was also associated with it at that period. Hitzig naturally enough, reverses this relation, and supposes that the Psalmist drew from the Chronicles. He regards the High Priest, Alex. Jannoeos, as the author of the pre- sent arrangement and the composer of Psalms i. and ii., as well as Ps. cl. and several others besides, and as having determined also the acceptance, the sequence and the division of the Psalms into five books.* Were the time of the Alexandrian translation of the Psalms definitely known, this would fiirnish a fixed starting-point. But even if we reject Herzfeld's assumption ( Geschichte iii. 470, who believes we have Maccabean Psalms in the Psalter) of a piecemeal translation not com- pleted until a very late period, the time of the translation of the Psalms still remains very in- definite, if we suppose the translation of the Pentateuch — ^the oldest of all — ^to have begun under Ptolemaus Philadelphus (284-247.) The statement of the Talmud given by Frankel ( Vorstu- dien zu der Septuaginta, 1841, S. 25 flf.) is not decisive. We can only say that the threefold divi- sion of the canonical Scriptures was in existence when the grandson of Sirach in Alexandria wrote the Prologue to his Greek translation of the book of Proverbs. But this would lead to no new result, even if the investigations of Gratz (in Frankel's Monatschrift 1875, S. 46 f., with whom Fuerst agrees, Geschichte des Karderthums, 1862, S. 132,) had established the fact that the Book of Proverbs was collected in the beginning of the third century b. c, or according to Horowitz, {JDas Buch Jesus Sirach, 1865), about 250 B. c. For the word grandson must not be taken too precisely. The author of the Prologue states that he arrived in Egypt in the thirty-eighth year of Euergetes. Now since Ptolemy iii. Euergetes ruled only twenty-five years, (246-221), we are obliged to think of Ptolemy vii., Euergetes ii., who was associate regent 170 b. c, so that Jesus the Siracide could not have arrived in Egypt until the year 132. If we assume, on the other hand, that his own grandfather compiled the Book of Pro- verbs, its compilation could not have occurred earlier than between 180 and 170 B. c. ; * [The division into five books was certainly the work of the last editor. The first three books were ready to his hand in essentially their present farm. The last two books were formed by collecting various groups of Psalms then existing in separate collections. The division of the 4th and 5th books is not clear except from the arbitrary division of the doxo- logy, for Pss. cvi. and cvii. really belong together as reciprocal to one another as Ewald shows {Die Dichter ii. 495.) These two latter books contain then the following groups with some intermediate Psalms of whose position it is difficult to see the reason. (1.) Beginning with a Psalm of Moses (Ps. xc), one similar to it in many respects is added. Then follows a group of 7 Psalms (Ps. xcii.-c.) of the same author as Ewald shows. Delitzsch regards this group as beginning with Ps. xci. and calls it the " Reihe deulerqjesaianiscJien Psalmen." " In them all is that mild elevation, sunny cheerfulness, serene spirituality and New Testament breadth of yiew, which we admire in the second part of the book of Isaiah, and they are likewise connected together by the use of the anadiplosis and many similarities in feeling and sound," {Comm. 588.) This same group is called by Binnie ('JTie Psalms; their history, teachings and use, J.870, p. 96) the songs of the Ml- lennium. (2.) Another group is formed by Pss. ciii. — cvii. Delitzsch regards Pss. civ.— cvii. as a tetralogy. "Ps. civ. de- rives its material from the history of creation, Ps. cv. from the period before and at the beginning of the history of Israel, Ps. cvi. from the history of Israel in Egypt, in the wilderness, in the land of promise until the exile, Ps. cvii. from the time of the Restoration." These Psalms follow Ps. ciii. ascribed to David, of which Ewald {JHchter ii. 487,) says that it is in a reciprocal connection with Ps. civ. This gronp is followed by three Psalms ascribed to David, of which Ps. cviii. may belong to the previous group as a song of praise (although the latter half of the Psalm is found in Ps. Ix. of the 2d Book). (3.) A third group is formed by Pss. cxi.— cxviii. of which Pss. cxiii. — cxviii. is the Hallel. Delitzsch supposes that it fol- lows Ps. ex., " because it puts the UnVl of Ps. ex. 4, in a more extended historical light, in that it adds one series of praises to another in praising the works and institutions of Jehovah." Then follows the long alphabetical Psalm cxix. A fourth group is made up of the pilgrim songs Pss. cxx.— cxxxiv., which are followed by Ps. cxxxv. (which is sometimea regarded as a part of the previous Psalm, vid. Delitzsch in lopo), and Ps. cxxxvi. the great Hallel. Delitzsch {Oomm. p. 731) informs us that the entire group Pss. cxix. — cxxxvi. was called the great Hallel in its widest significance ; but that Ps. cxxxvi. ordinarily bore this name, whilst the ordinary Hallel was Pss. cxiii.— cxviii. We now have a song of the cap- tivity and a group of Davidic Psalms (Ps. cxxxviii.— cxlv.), the last of which, Ps. cxlv., begins the final group of doxologiea (Ps. cxlv.^-cl.) which Ewald ascribes to the same author. — G. A. B.] 12 INTRODUCTION TO THE PSALTER. (Fritzsche, et al.) Nor does the fact that the book of Proverbs contains distinct references to individual Psalms bring us any nearer a result {vid. Beitrdge zur Einleitung in das A. T. von H. Gelbe, 1866, S. 4). This circumstance, however, is significant, that the Septuagint concludes with the apocryphal Psalm (cli.) on the victory of David over Goliath, which is designated in the superscription as, " A Psalm of David written with his own hand, not of the number of the Psalms ascribed to him." The number of the canonical Psalms (150) was therefore fixed before the addition of this apocryphal Psalm. "And yet the translator finding it in existence, clearly proves that between his time and the conclusion of the Psalter, as found in the canon, a considerable period must have elapsed" (Ewald, i. 266, Neu. Ausar- beit). Now the liturgical use of the Psalms encourages the assumption of a very early trans- lation, while Hitzig's conjecture that it was made after the translation of the prophets, has no other motive than the interest of his hypothesis. The Septuag. itself assumes that the time of Nehemiah was the period of the cessation of the composition of Psalms, vid. Dill- mann {Jahrb.fUr deutsche Theol. 1858, S. 457). The numbering of the Psalms is variously given.* Many Hebrew manuscripts unite Pss. i. and ii., and likewise Pss. xlii. and xliii. and cxvi. and cxvii. Ps. cxviii. is on the other hand, divided sometimes in two and sometimes in three. In many cases the entire number is set down at 149. Delitzsch, in fact, refers to a numbering found in a Hagadabook in which there are but 147 Psalms, corresponding to the years of Jacob's life. The Septuag. like- wise originally united the first two Psalms, and still like the Vulgate unites Pss. ix. and x., so that from Ps. x. to cxlvii. the numbering of the Septuagint remains one Psalm less than the Hebrew text, until it reaches the latter Ps. which it divides. By another variation Pss. cxiv. and cxv. are united, while Ps. cxvi. is divided. Attention must be paid to this in the citations of the Church fathers.f I 5. THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE PSALMS IN ISRAEL. All the Psalms were not originally composed for liturgical use, nor with direct reference to the Church of God, as has been assumed from various grounds, by Dursch, Hengstenb. and Olshausen. They are adapted, however, by their contents and form, to such an application and they served that liturgical purpose in part in the first temple, but especially in the second temple. Some Psalms, moreover, were destined from the first for the divine service of the temple. This will be more specifically set forth, hereafter, in ita connection. At pre- sent we confine ourselves to a general survey. Whatever our conclusion respecting the use of Ps. cvi. in 1 Chron. xvi., it, at least, estab- lishes the custom of that period to sing Psalms in the temple on festal occasions (Heng- stenb. iv. 1, 168). But the Chronicler must have been a contemporary of Ezra, or Nehemiah in which case his labors fall between 636 and 400 b. c. (Havernick, Keil, Movers, et al.) or he must have lived (from the genealogy 1 Chron. iii. 18 f ), in the latter days of the Per- * [" The many divergencies in the numbering of the Psalms may be easily accounted for, if wo remember that the origi- nal MSS. employed no other means of marking the beginning of a new Psalm, than a short space, or at most the begin- ning of a new line, except in the case of those Psalms which were separated by superscriptions and those' latter were doubtless many of them of late date. The noticeably similar contents of many of the Psalms and the sudden transitions of thought or feeling so natural to this kind of poetry, would render the copyist all the more likely to unite two Psalms in one, or to divide one Psalm in two quite unconsciously." Perowne.— J. B. H.l t [We add to this section some appropriate remarks of Perowne. " It is plain, then, that these ancient Hebrew songs and hymns must have suflfercd a variety of changes in the course of time, similar to those which may be traced in the older religious poetry of the Christian Church, where this has been adapted by any means to the object of some later compiler Thus, hymns once intended for private use became adapted to public. Words and expressions applicable to the orieinal circumstances of the writer, but not applicable to the new purpose to which the hymn was to be put, were omitted or altered. It is only in a critical age that any anxiety is manifested to ascertain the original form in which a poem appeared The practical use of hymns in the Christian Church, and of the Psalms in the Jewish, far outweighed all considerations of a critical kind; or rather, these last never occurred. Hence it has become a more difficult task than it otherwise would have been to ascertain the historical circumstances under which certain Psalms were written. Some traces we find lead Ing us to one period of Jewish history ; others which lead to another. Often there is a want of cohesion between the parts of a Psalm ; often an abruptness of transition which we can hardly account for, except on the hypothesis that we no Ion read the Psalm in its original form." — C, A. B,] ^^' §5. THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE PSALMS IN ISRAEL. 18 sian rule, or at the latest early in the Grecian period (Zunz^ Ewald, Bertheau, Dillmann, Bleek, Stahelin). Now, in spite of the appearance of a didactic and parenectical treatment in his style, and the controversy concerning some of his statements, especially in our present text; his accounts are still regarded by our modern critics as essentially historical notwithstanding the opinions of De Wette and Gramberg to the contrary, (Stahelin, Spezielle Mnl. in die kanon. Bucher des A. T., 1862, S. 155). This is especially true of David's regu- lations for worship, so that we may safely infer from the information given by the Chronicler, that the Psalms were in liturgical use during the period of the first temple. This is favored also by the vow of King Hezekiah to sing his songs in the house of the Lord, Is. xxxviii. 20, and apart from the prophet Jonah, by the remark in Jer. xxxiii. 11, that the voice should be heard again of those who say, " Praise the Lord of Hosts, for the Lord is good, for His mercy endureth forever," and of those who should bring the sacrifice of praise to the house of the Lord. Even E. H. Graf [Die geschichtl. Bucher des A. T., 1866, S. 245), whose general opinion of the Book of Chronicles, as a source of historical information, is so unfavorable, admits that they approach nearer to history in referring many of the regulations of the tem- ple service to Hezekiah and Josiah than in ascribing them to David. Aside from the conclusion to be drawn from 1 Chron. xvi. the formula employed in 1 Chron. xvi. 41, and reappearing 2 Chron. v. 13 ; vii. 13 ; xx. 21 ; Ezra iii. 11, taken probably from Ps. cxxxvi., favors the view that the Psalms were liturgically employed during the period of the second temple, as songs for festal occasions. The same is true of the formula, " To sing with praise and thanksgiving," which occurs frequently in connection with Ezra and Nehemiah, and which is certainly not without reference to the Hallelujah Psalms, and the "praise" in Psalms cv. — cvii , cxv., cxxxvi. [comp. StBheliiiy ^r Einleit. in die Psalmen, § 3). Furthermore, the agreement of many Psalms, especially in the fourth and fifth books, with the prayers of Ezra ix. and Nehemiah ix. ; and finally the musical and liturgical re- marks in the Psalms themselves, which are found, although in a somewhat enlarged and extended form, in the Septuag., which was composed during the period of the second temple, prove that the Psalms were at that time liturgically employed. From the Talmud [Mischna, Tract, thamid ; Gemara Tr.Kidduschim in Lud. deDieu,Ani- madv. p. 389,) we learn more particularly, that on the first day of the week, at the morning sacrifice, Levites were appointed to sing Ps. xxiv. ; on the second day Ps, xlviii. ; on the third day Ps. Ixxxii. ; on the fourth day Ps. xcii. ; on the fifth day Ps. Ixxxi. ; on the sixth day Ps. xciii. ; on the seventh day Ps. xcii, Eespecting the ritual cf. ^ 11. For the chief and the intermediate feast days there were other Psalms prescribed concerning which tradi- tion is partly at variance and partly silent. While, for example, at the present day, Ps. Ixv. is sung at the close of the feast of Tabernacles [schemini azereth) and the xxix. on the feast of Pentecost, the Septuag. designates Ps. xxix. for the close of the former festival, and the Talmud gives no account at all of the liturgy for the latter day, while the commentators are divided between Pss. vi. and xii. Pss. xxix.; 1. 16; xciv. 16 ; xciv. 8; Ixxxi. 7; Ixxxii. 5 b., are assigned for the intervening days of the feast of Tabernacles. Ps. xxx. was appointed to be sung on the presentation of the firstlings. Eighteen times in the year, viz., on the first two days of the Passover, on the eight days of Succoth, i. e., the feast of Tabernacles, and on the eight days of the chanuka or festival of the dedication of the Temple, introduced by Jud. Maccab., the hallel Pss. cxiii. — cxviii. was a part of the festal service. Even as early as the Alexandr. version, they bore the superscription, ^ k'/ikri^ovia. This hallel, likewise called the Egyptian [hallel hammizri), was afterwards called the great hallel to distinguish it from the little hallel, in which Ps. cxv. 1-12 ; Ps. cxvi. 1-11 were omitted. In the ancient ritual only Ps. cxxxvi., with its refrain repeated twenty-six times, " For his mercy endureth for- ever," was called hallel haggadol. In the Talmud and Midrash this title was also applied to Ps. cxxxv. 4 — cxxxvi., and to Ps. cxx. — cxxxvi. On the feast of the Passover the hallel was BO divided, that Pss. cxiii. and cxiv. were sung before the meal, before taking the second fes- . tal cup ; Pss. cxv — cxviii. after the meal, after filling the fourth cup. At the time of the full moon, the hallel was customarily sung, although not legally prescribed ( Tr. Soferim.) As examples of the standing use of single verses of the Psalms at that period Delitzsch 14 INTRODUCTION TO THE PSALTER. {Zur Geschichte, g 179), adduces, 1. ) The hosanna whichi was sung by the priests, in march- ing around the altar of burnt oflFering, shaded with willow twigs, on the seven days of the Passover, the last day thereby receiving the name of the great hosanna; 2.) Ps. xliv. 24, as a daily cry of the Levites in times of need and apostasy; 3.) Ps. cxxvii. 1, which verse the nobles of Jerusalem used on the night preceding the day of atonement, in calling out to the High Priest repeatedly, lest sleep should overpower him. After the destruction of the temple, prayer came to occupy more and more the place of sacrifice, and the synagogue service became the vital centre of Jewish life, " the only bearer and banner of their nationality, in the ruin of all their other institutions " (Zunz, Die gottes- dienstl. Vortrdge, S. 1). Its two parts consisted in the reading of the Scriptural and singing of Psalms and other psalm-like passages. The reading was conducted by the teachers, and those versed in the Scriptures, the " wise men," and it was connected with expositions, [Midrash). The singing was conducted by the leaders in prayer, *' the representatives of the assembly," who delivered in a singing style. Psalms or songs of a psalm-like character which were in- troduced gradually, and grew up out of free renderings of passages from the Psalms and other biblical sentences. This poetry [pint] was like that series of exclamations and praises resembling litanies used on the day of atonement, or those declarations of Divine pardon composed of passages of Scripture which were connected with penitential prayers, and which were called selicha, and were accompanied with hymns in rhyme {pismon) in the recitation of which the congregation united, answering with passages from the Bible or other responses, (Zunz, Die synag. Poesie, S. 89). This poetry was originally composed of fragments without rhyme and metre, usually with an alphabetical arrangement of the lines or sentences. As it gradually became richer in contents, so it became more artistic in form and more difficult of expression, and finally as a whole was reduced to definite technical rules, [l. c. S. 60,) in which, however, the grand culmination of the strophe was in the biblical passage with which it concluded, (/. c. S. 95), which was selected with special reference to the significance of the day, or its striking efiect upon the ear or mind. There was, however, for centuries, no fixed arrangement of prayers, and no prayer-book to which the leaders in prayer were restricted. They exercised, in fact, the greatest freedom in the choice of Psalms and hymns for divine service, and in the manner of their delivery, and not unfrequently appeared themselves in the character of poets or singers, with original productions. They were generally confined, however, to local usage [Minhag.), (Zunz, Die Ritus des synag. Gottesdienstes geschichtl. entwickelt, 1859, S. 2), until the middle of the ninth century [I. c. S. 7), when a prevailing type of festal poetry had been formed for the entire year. The usage of the West (Palestine) extended itself over the hymns of Christians, particularly German nations, whilst the usage of the East (Babylon) established itself in the countries of Islam and in Spain, For the Psalms at present used by the Jews, in family devotions and the worship of the synagogue, vid. in J. F. Schroeder, Satzungen und Gebrduche des talmudisch. rabinischen Judenthums 1851, S. 25, ff*. Among the Karseans the cxix. Ps. is read in seven divisions on the Sabbaths preceding the feast of weeks, and is used as a prayer in the month Tebet, on Monday and Thursday nights {Z\mz,DieEitus, S. 159). § 6. LITURGICAL STTPERSCRIPTIONS OF PARTICULAR PSALMS. The following indications of the special liturgical use of individual Psalms may be drawn from their superscriptions. - 1. Psalm xcii. was designed for the Sabbath. The Sept. represents other Psalms as de- signed for other days of the week. 2. The statement, Ps. xxx., "A Psalm sung at the dedication of the house of David," h referred by Venema, Hengstenb., Keil and Tholuck, to the consecration of the site selected for the future temple, upon which an altar had been erected provisionally, whence it was called the house of Jehovah, 1 Chron. xxii. 1. But David himself was not taken sick with the plague, which was visited upon the people as a punishment for the numbering, men- tioned 2 Sam. xxiv. 17, and which was the occasion of the erection of the altar, v. 18 sq. The Psalmist, however, speaks of his personal deliverance from a sickness which threatened 26. LITURGICAL SUPERSCRIPTIONS OF PARTICULAR PSALMS. 15 his life. Such a reference is therefore inappropriate. Calvin, Clauss, et al. take it as referring to a consecration of the palace, which had been desecrated by Absalom, on David's return. The word house, used absolutely, certainly may signify " palace," as is clearly proved by the official title of the major domo, ascher cU-lahajith ; but the Psalm does not speak of deliverance from the hand of an enemy, but of recovery from sickness. Most commentators, therefore, take it as a reference to the re-built citadel on Mount Zion, and call attention to the fact that David regarded this structure as a pledge of the firmness and greatness of his kingdom, (2 Sam. V. 12), the immediate occupation of which was prevented by a severe sickness. De Wette's assumption that there was in general use a song appropriated to the consecra- tion of houses (Deut. xx. 5), and that this Psalm was to be sung to the melody of that song, is without foundation. Ewald regards it as an ancient song of thanksgiving, which was afterwards sung at the consecration of the second temple. The later superscription then says that this Psalm should be sung again at each anniversary of that day. 3. The statement, Pss. xxxviii. and Ixx., lehazkir=^io bring to remembrance, Septuag. ek av&.fivqaiv irepl (tov) aaj^^drov. This, according to some, refers to the sufierings in remembrance of which David is said to have composed this Psalm. Others apply the expression to the person of David himself, who brings himself in remembrance to Jehovah. Thus Gesenius in the Thesaurus. Olshausen regards it in general as a liturgical designation equivalent to "prayer." Michaelia {Krit.CoUeg., 8. ^Id), on the contrary, gives it a more specific appli- cation=at the sacrifice ; Ewald, with reference to Isa. Ixvi. 3, still more particularly^at the ofiering of incense ; cf. Ps. cxli. 2 ; Rev. viii. 4, as a supplicatory prayer in contrast with lethodah, Ps. c.=for the thank-ofiering. Delitzsch conjectures that the expression is not em- ployed in a symbolic but in a proper liturgical sense=at the presentation of the askdrah, and remarks (Comwen^. I. 297), "At the presentation of the meat offering [minchot] a portion, viz., a handful of meal mingled with oil and all of the incense, was consumed upon the altar ; this portion was called mJTX ava^wjaig, because the ascending fragrance served to bring the offerer in remembrance with God." Delitzch also regards the Hiphil as denominative, and believes that the Chronicler refers to the hazkir with the hodu and hallelujah Psalms, 1 Chron. xvi. 4. Concerning the later ritual, vid. § 11. 4. The superscription of Ps. c, "A Psalm of praise," is regarded by Mendelssohn, Ewald and Delitzsch as appropriate especially to the thanks-offering. 5. The superscription of Pss. cxx. — cxxxiv., shir hammaaloth ; Septuag. <^&fi rcxv ava^ad^Cov; Vulgate : cantica graduum, from which they have received the liturgical title, " Psalms of de- grees," signifies according to Luther, " songs in the higher choir," which refers, according to Bake, to the singers who stood upon an elevated position. According to an uncertain tradi- tion the opinion had prevailed that these fifteen Psalms were sung upon the fifteen steps, which led from the court of the women to that of the men of Israel, thus, according to Lyra one for every step. This, however, is not the statement of the Talmud. It simply compares the fifteen songs with those fifteen steps on which the music of the priests sounded on the first day of the feast of the Tabernacles, vid. 1 11. The comparison does not justify the in- ference that the Psalms were sung on these steps or that the title, "Psalms of degrees" was taken from this locality. No more can we base on the Syriac the supposition that there is here a metrical designation (J. D. Michaelis, Zu Lowth, De sacra poesi, etc., prcelect. 25 nach Assemani), and that it indicates a rhythm advancing by degrees (Gesenius, zu Jes. xvii. 13 ; xxvi, 1). Dietrich (in Delitzsch's Comment, ii. 451, f.) has shown the error of this sup- position and remarks that the Syriac sebletho (or, according to an easier pronunciation sehelto, plural sebloto) simply indicates the division of a greater whole, and occurs, therefore, with reference to the division of the Psalms for the use of the church (cf. I 13). E. Meier, [Form der hebr. Foesie, 1853, S. 31), understands by maalah, the simplest and smallest strophe, consisting of four members, and supposes these Psalms to have been designated from this, the prevailing form in this group. According to Herder, Eichhorn, Hengstenb., Keuss et al., these Psalms were composed at different times and for different purposes, but were afterwards appointed to be sung in the pilgrimages towards Jerusalem, for which they were especially adapted by their rapid rhythm and their contents referring mainly to Jerusalem and the sane 16 INTRODUCTION TO THE PSALTER. tuary. The Syrian cliurcli and many of the fathers think especially of the return from Babylon (Ezra vii. 9) ; Ewald {Jahrb. vi., 105 f.), with essentially the same view, trans- lates, " Songs of the homeward marches." He refers the plural, however, to the different journeys of those who returned from the exile, and designates them as their ancient and new pilgrim songs. Pss. cxx., cxxii. and cxxvi. do not in the least harmonize with this view. The explanation of Thenius [Stud. u. Krit., 1854, Heft. 3, and Deutscher Psalter, 1859, S. 177 f.) is at present the most generally accepted ; that maaloth, which is not used in the meaning of pilgrimage, refers to the different stations, or halting-places, where those who journeyed to the feast used to rest, in their upward march towards Jerusalem. We know, indeed, that the pilgrims moved up with music and song towards Jerusalem, Ps.xxx. 29. Yet whether just the cxx. Ps. was sung on setting out from foreign lands ; the cxxi. at the first sight of their native hills ; the cxxii. on their first entrance to the holy land ; whether Pss. cxxiii. — cxxxi. express the recollections and feelings which were called forth by the fall and the restoration of the city of God ; and Ps. cxxxii. resounded at the first view of the city ; Ps. cxxxiii. on their entrance and Ps. cxxxiv. as they went up into the temple ; all this is very uncertain. § 7. THE ESSENTIAL CONTENTS OP THE PSALMS. Some attempts have been made to characterize and group the Psalms with reference to their subject matter. These efforts have, however, only served to show the incompleteness as well as the inappropriateness of such classifications. They lose sight of the essential thing, viz., the lyrical religious, Hebraic character of this portion of the sacred Scriptures. Their lyrical character implies that the subjects treated are not mere matters of objective contem- plation, but- reflections rather of tlieir influence upon the Psalmist's soul. Inseparable from their religious character, is the thorough-going reference of all experience, knowledge and feeling to the Providence of God in the world, and the harmony of the Psalmist therewith in his station and in the frames of his soul. The Hebraic character of the Psalter secures the adherence of the Psalmist, although advancing with the historic progress of revelation, to the foundation of the Mosaic law, on the one side ; on the other, their continual reference to the holiness of God, and to the destiny which was thereby presented to the entire covenant people, Lev. xix. 2. Hence the Theocratic energy ; the apprehension of Israel's world-wide mission, axid the prophetic glsince of the Psalmist. Hence it occurs that the subjects treated of in particular Psalms are drawn from all the domains of nature and of history, of public and of private life ; affecting the whole people, or one of its individual members only ; per- taining to worship or doctrine and to life. But a formal division into doctrinal poems, tem- ple hymns, national songs, royal Psalms, songs of joy or of mourning, can only lead to dis- torted representations, as several commentators, especially De Wette, have shown. We may with more propriety distinguish three principal groups, according as the prevail- ing tone is one of joy, praise and thanksgiving to God, or of lamentation and petition, or indeed contemplative, narrative and didactic. Such divisions, with reference to the prevailing tenor of the Psalms, have been made by Hengstenb. and Hitzig, and, in part, also by G. Baur and Hupfeld. This is something quite different from the classification attempted by August! [Prakt. Einleit. indie Ps., S. 11), according to sesthetical categories, into odes, elegies &c. Such classifications can be only formal, and the frequent mixture of emotions, and sudden transitions, in many Psalms, from one to another, present many difficulties to such attempts. They would be, perhaps, as Hupfeld remarks, more suitable as subdivisions of the above mentioned classes, than as independent classes. He divides them, however into four lead- ing classes, according to the subject matter : 1. Those Psalms which refer immediately to God and Divine things (godliness, worship, Divine order and government) ; 2. Those which refer to the King and the kingdom ; 3. Those referring to the people and their lot ; 4 Those referring to the poet and his circumstances. With respect to the latter point, we cannot overlook the fact, that the eircumstances of the Psalmist are occasionally alluded to in the superscriptions. That such statements are simply scholia, added by a later hand, is neither proven by the analogies of Arabic writings (Sta- helin), nor from their apparent want of agreement in many cases, with the contents of the §7, THE ESSENTIAL CONTENTS OP THE PSALMS. 17 Psalms witla which they are associated (Hitzig, et al.). The latter circumstance is rather against the hypothesis that the superscriptions were inferences drawn from the text. The suhject of such Psalms is not the personal fortunes of the poet, hut rather his religious experi- ences in the midst of those circumstances, and the religious hopes, fears and the desires cher- ished by him. For this reason Hilarius sees every where in the Psalms the tendency to educate the soul in the knowledge of God ; to awaken fear and love towards Him, to call forth the praise of His glory. He therefore considers a believing heart [Prolegg. 21) essential to understand them, whilst to the worldly sense they are sealed with seven seals [Prolegg. 5, S. 9). The cir- cumstances of the Psalmist, were simply the occasion of their utterance, and furnish no better ground for a division than the other categories mentioned above. For they never treat of God, His word, being, providence and government, merely in ahstracto ; never for their own sake as objects of theoretical contemplation, or general praise. They always spring from some special occasion, even though not expressly mentioned, and have particular reference to the experience of the people of God, their King, or other members. Hence their contents, in other respects so similar, possess a richness of individual application which renders them so inexhaustible in their use for edification. The contents which pervade the Psalter, notwithstanding the diversity of particular portions in motive and treatment, are thus described by Zunz [Die synag. Poesie, 1855, S. 3), who regards the Psalter as essentially a manifest of the oppressed people of Israel : The poet begins with a cry of pain, a call to prayer and song ; he portrays the sad condition of his people, their necessities, persecutions, bloodshed and grief; the contrast of the pious sufierers with their haughty oppressors and national enemies with their power, prosperity, wickedness, and dissimulation ; with them are the rebellious ; Israel is an object of scorn, &c. Now there is a retrospect of former times connected with considerations of national history, and they call to mind the covenant of God. Then there is a transition to the sense of guilt ; confession, remorse and the power of prayer ; castigatory discourse ; the contrast of sinful, law-offending man with the Almighty, All-knowing, but also just and merciful God, who recompenses all.^ The praises of God, the Creator ; His law ; His people of Israel as the elect, held in remem- brance ; Zion and the sanctuary. Longings for the sanctuary, love of its teachings, confi- dence in the promises of God, humble dependence and trust are described. The value of a good moral life and walk, and the strength of prayer which is of more value than sacrifice. Desire for the humiliation of enemies ; imprecations ; the powerlessness of idols. God is with the oppressed ; hopes, deliverance, victory, thanks, praise, summons to adore God. The con- clusion is formed now of lamentation and now with rejoicing ; now with thoughts of Israel, and now of the nations who all, one day, shall know God. We miss three things especially in this description, the addition of which is of highest importance to the understanding and the use of the Psalms. We demand in the first place, a distinct recognition of the theocratic element in the national education of the Israelites. Only thus can we understand the much-discussed antagonism between the people of Israel and other nations, or appreciate the language threatening them with divine judgments and cursings in the so-called imprecatory Psalms, [vid., striking remarks of Hengstenberg and Tholuck )* Only thus can we understand the actual progress in the earnest introduction into life of theocratic requirements and institutions ; and not by seeking to resolve them into general religious ideas. De Wette(£/e6er die erhauliche Erkldrung der Psalmen, 1836), is particularly instructive on this point. Connected with this is our second desideratum, namely, the distinct reference of the righteousness often so strongly emphasized by the Psalmist, to an equal energy of theocratic action, rooted indeed in the revealed law, not sup- posing, however, that righteousness consists in legal acts, rites and ceremonies, but in fulfilling * [B. B. Edwards on the Imprecatums in the Scriptures in his Life and Writings, by E. A. Park, ii. 364 ff. ; Prof. J. Owen, Imprecatory Psalms in the Bibl. Sacra, xiii. 551-5es. Bev. Alb. Barnes' Commentary on the Fsalms, Introd. § 6, (1869). Vid. especially the articles of Prof. E. A. Park, in Smith's Bibh Diet. (Hackett and Abbot), 1870, 2625 f., and Imprecatory Psalms in the Bibl. Sacra, xix. 165-210, by the same author. A very satisfactory train of thought is suggested, if not fully developed, for the solution of the difficulties of the Imprecations in tho Psalms, in Perowne's Introduction to the Psalm, p. 61 sq., 2 Ed. 1870. 7id. also his fuller discussion in his note on. the xxxv. Ps. Charles Taylor, The Gospel in the Law.— J. B. H.l 2 18 INTRODUCTION TO THE PSALTER. the will of God, and in striving against all merely external service, unfolding in its expres- sions concerning sacrifice, prayer, retribution and eternal life the germs of evangelical views. And precisely for this reason, we cannot dispense, thirdly, with the express recognition of the prophetical, Messianic feature in the Psalms. We say designedly feature, not features. For we are not now concerned with the exposition of individual passages of the Psalms and their — ^to a certain extent — controvertible application to the historic events of the life of Christ ; but only with the recognition of the fact ; that the Psalms, like the entire old Testament, are pervaded with the expectation of a coming kingdom and man of God's good pleasure, and that this expectation was not an indefinite and general hope of better times, but a hope of faith founded upon definite promises of God, confirmed by His repeated assurances, gradually unfolded in its particular features by prophetic witnesses, prefigured and made manifest histori- cally by definite persons and relations, and led victoriously to its fulfilment by special divine acts of revelation. The Psalms, on the one side, furnish evidence of the depth to which the Messianic hope had penetrated the life of the Israelites, and the power with which it had moved their hearts. On the other hand they have essentially contributed partly towards its preservation and extension, and in part also to its development, in its double form as typico- Messianic and as prophetico- Messianic (Sack, Christl, Apologetih, 2 Ausg. S. 278, f. ; Keil in Havernick's Einl. iii. 101 f., Hengst, iv. 647 f.). The important distinction between the ^yjt?ico-Messianic and prophetico-M.QS%i2inic passages which opens the way to a correct understanding of them, still needs to be more accurately defined. Thus if we regard as typico-Messianic those passages in which historic events are treated in such a way that they appear as a divinely- wrought type of Messianic relations ; as prophetico-Messianic, on the other hand, such as arising from historical circumstances and in general from historical grounds (which factor was for the most part overlooked by the older Orthodox interpreters), yet are Messianic as such (which element was mistaken by the ration- alist interpreters, who made a false use of history) : then there arises the frequently neglected question which remains, whether the Messianic meaning was originally in the consciousness of the Psalmist, or was only afterward discovered in his words. In the first case, the type is itself prophetic in the narrow sense, and the prophetic word of the Psalmist is a direct Messianic prophecy, and the further question arises : — Are his words simply the comforting and warn- ing repetitions of prophecies previously received and made public, or has the poet actually become a seer, the Psalmist a prophet, thus positively carrying the Messianic prophecies to a higher development. In the latter case, the general question arises as to the conscious or unconscious Messianic reference of the Psalmist's words in a concrete and individual form. If, for instance, it is recognized that in certain passages the Messianic meaning was not discovered until afterwards and was not intended by the Psalmist, it does not follow that it was first discovered by Jewish or Christian Theologians, or was attached to it by the authors of the New Testament, with subjective honesty but in actual error, and in consequence of methods of interpretation then prevailing in the schools. Nor is the supposition of Herm. Shultz [Theol. Stud, und Krit., 1866, Heft, i.), that the Messianic meaning as a second seme essentially different from the grammatico-historical sense had previously arisen in the hearts of the be- lieving congregation which understood the revelation of their God satisfactorily. That would show an earlier Messianic interpretation of those passages, and would transfer the introduc- tion of this change in understanding and interpreting them from the schools of the Rabbins to the faith of the congregation. A transformation of their original sense, however would still be admitted, which could hardly be as a factor of Revelation, but, at most, only an element in the historical process of development of Israel's believing consciousness. We would then have an explanation which might, it is true, be connected with the passages in question yet had changed their original meaning. We must, however, deal as earnestly with the idea of Revelation as with the supposition which is incontestably correct, of a historical progress therein. For there is no occasion to recognize in the Psalms the mere echo of the prophetic word and their Messianic promises like those of the law, and to exclude the prophetic utter- ance proper from them, and to put the Messianic interpretation of particular passages into an entirely different period of Revelation from that of the origin of these passages themselves § 7. THE ESSENTIAL CONTENTS OF THE PSALMS. 19 (Schultz, /. c. S.41). We may confidently assume that the spirit of revelation wrought pro- phetically in the Psalmists and gave tkeir words occasionally such. 2. form of expression as must have driven their reflection to search for the sense intended by the Spirit of God. This is quite different from the subordinate or parallel sense, which Rud. Stier assumes along-side of the original and proper sense. But there is no double sense at all in them. On the contrary, the words in question give only one grammatical and historical sense which can be derived from them. Yet this is so constituted that, properly and strictly taken, it breaks through the limits of its association with the merely present events, and admits of no intelligible applica- tion to the circumstances, opinions and prospects of the speaker, and if such a restriction were attempted, it would lead to such assumptions of obscurity, exaggeration and hyperbole as are found in no species of poetry, and in no language under heaven. It is under the influ- ence of such views that Schultz says : " We may call this the hidden sense of the Holy Ohost, because it comes not so much through the will of its author, as it is involved from the power of the contents which dwell in his words, reaching far beyond the present, and thus from the Spirit, from whom the Psalm was born, and whose impress it bears." So much the more forcibly does the question still press upon us, why the Messianic sense, which is as different from its parenetic and practical application, as from its typical use, should only have arisen after the Psalm had become a song of the church, and had been employed in its public wor- ship ; after the king had died by whom, or concerning whom the Psalm had been composed, and the occasion of its composition had been forgotten (/. c. S. 39). In this connection, we must say of the Psalms of suffering, what was recognized by Schultz : that they must contain that which not simply renders their later Messianic application possible, but fully justifies it. He says, S. 48, " Only those Psalms of suffering can be prophetic, in which the sufferings of the righteous are the basis of the highest triumph, of the conversion of the heathen, of the instruction of all nations, — in short, stand as a door of entrance to Messianic hopes and thoughts." In such cases, however, the Messianic reference cannot be called a change in its interpretation, but is an explanation of its original sense. When this, however, occurs in obscure passages, or such as require searching investigations, this might be referable some- times even to the Psalmist himself. For a searching of revelations received by the prophets, is alluded to as nothing extraordinary, 1 Peter iv. sq. Such searching had, at all events, not always immediately attained its end. On the contrary, it is well established, that the under- standing of what the Spirit signified, Hebrews ix. 8, was disclosed, frequently, only a long time afterwards and sometimes only after its fulfilment. But it must not be overlooked that the understanding of prophecy, like prophecy itself, has its degrees as well as modes, and that the former are not of necessity widely apart as the latter are not necessarily separate. Thus it might happen, under certain circumstances, that many of the same kind might be found together, not only in the S3,me age, but in the life of one and the same person. If now, a Psalmist were at the same time a prophet, and we are especially informed that this was the case with David (2 Sam. xxiii. 2; Acts ii. 30) ; and if the same person had, moreover, received Messianic prophecies from other prophets, which also occurred to David (2 Sam. vii.), we have then not only a historic foundation in Revelation for the appearance of Messianic pro- phecies in the Psalms, but a development upon this basis is provided for, not only through human reflection and the comparison and connection of various prophecies, but especially through an act of Revelation itself. The products of his own prophetic conception may therefore become for the prophet himself an impulse to reflection, by the fact that it tran- scends the contents of his previous consciousness. The word which gave this impulse appears no more to himself as a poetical production, but as the word of God, and thereby receives for his own consciousness, a deeper significance, not recognized at the time of its production. Under these circumstances, if we would faithfully recognize the actual germination and growth of Messianic prophecy and the Messianic hope founded thereon, and likewise under- stand the concrete form, color and relation of individual passages of the Psalms, explained as Messianic, it is absolutely necessary to survey them closely in their historical situation and rhetorical connection. So long as this was neglected by the orthodoxy of the church as well as the Synagogue, they might indeed hold fast to the certainty of the Messianic prophecies 20 INTRODUCTION TO THE PSALTER. in the Psalms, and affirm their right to do so ; but they were unable to establish that certainty on sufficient grounds, and to show that their right was worthy of belief. They were also forced either to treat the prophecies as immediate, separate predictions without historical basis, occurring most wonderfully in the midst of expressions of an entirely different charac- ter ; or else to refer whole Psalms, and series of Psalms, and even entire statements about prominent persons and relations of the Old Testament, directly to the person of Christ, His work, kingdom and history, in opposition to the original signification of the words and simply for the sake of some individual expressions and sentences.* Thus Thomas Aquinas regards the first Psalm as directly Messianic. Here there is no other resource than earnestly to explore the connection of sacred Scripture, and the organism of Revelation and its his- tory, that we may discover, in the difference between the economy of the old and the new covenant, the paths and threads which conduct from one to the other and recognize the pre- figuration of the latter in the former. Especially may " The entire Psalter be compared to a great and beautiful city, with many and various structures, whose doors are each locked with a key of its own " (Hilarius, Pro/e^r^. 24). And as Origen {De la Rue ii. 525) says that the holy Scriptures are locked with the key of David, and sealed with the power of God, so Hilarius also remarks [Prolegg. 5-7) : " the key of David is the theanthropic person of Jesus Christ, whose type is the Psalmist both in his inward and external experience, [vid. on Ps. cxxxiv.) ever speaking by the Holy Ghost [vid. on Ps. i.) to which the prophetic tone of his discourse and his figurative language, fi-equently point" [vid. on Ps. cxix. 1). Such a type was David himself, especially, whose fortunes in life were conducted and ordered by God's appointment with particular reference to Christ. David stands as a fruitful, ever green olive- tree, in the house of God, both in the Law and in the Gospel, and is like an Apostle of the Evangelic faith [vid. on Ps. li. 22), and had himself a prophetical consciousness of the typical character of his sufferings [vid. on Ps. Iviii. 1). It is in fact the form of the theocra- tic king, typified in David, Messianically announced in David's son (Ps. ii.) who is propheti- cally contemplated as the ruler of a priestly kingdom, as a royal priest, (Ps. ex.), which forms the central point of the prophetic descriptions in Pss. xlv. and Ixxii., supported by ear- lier prophecies of the blessed and peaceful dominion of a righteous king, extending his sway over the whole earth, excelling all the might and glory of the world, who appears also in indi- vidual Psalms, Pss. xxii., cix., as a sufferer without an equal, whose conflict leads to an all- embracing victory, spreading abroad salvation everywhere! (comp. Havernick, Vorlesungen ilber die Theologie des A. T., 2 Ausg. durch Herm. Schultz, 1863 ; Riehm, Zur Charakteristik der mess. Weissagung und ihres Verhdltnisses zu der Erfullung, Theol. Stud, und Krit, 1865, Heft 1-3). * [An able discussion of the Messianic element in the Psalms, as well as other matters considered in this section may be found in Perowne's Introd., Chap. iii. 2 Ed., 1870.— J. B, H.] f [" The interpreter of the Psalms," says Delitzsch, " may establish himself either on the stand-point of the poet or the stand-point of the congregation of the Old Testament or on the stand-point of the church — a fundamental condition of progress in interpretation is the keeping of these three stand-points separate, and accordingly the distinction of the two Testaments and the different stages of revelation and the knowledge of redemption in general. For as salvation itself, so has its revelation and the knowledge of it, an advancing history which extends from paradise through all time even to eternity." Tlie congregation of Israel and especially the Christian church afterwards under the guidance of the Spirit, brought many of the different lines of development together, which in the Old Testament and to the inspired writers were entirely separate and apparently parallel, as it saw them converge in the person and life of Jesus Christ. Now from the Btand-point of the poets we have to distinguish in Messianic prophecy two parallel lines of development, as Delitzsch shows: "The one. has as its end the anointed of Jehovah, who rules from Zion over all nations, f,he other the Lord Himself enthroned above the cherubim to whom the whole world does homage. And of these two linos the Divine is predominant in the Psalms ; hope is directed especially after the cessation of the kingdom of Israel, far beyond human mediation at once to Jehovah, the author of salvation. The fundamental article of the faith of the Old TeRtaaieot was niil'S HH VltS'^ The Messiah is not yet recognized as the God-man. Therefore the Psalmist knows of no prayer to ffim or in His name'. But prayer to Jehovah and for Jehovah's sake is essentially the same. For Jehovah has Jesus in Himself. Jehovah is the Redeemer. The Redeemer, when He appears, is no other than the T\'iJW'' of this God in bodily manifestation. Is. xlix. 6." The human line of Messianic prophecy in the Psalms is based upon Nathan's prophecy, 2 Sam. vli. The Messiah is usually regarded as a king, but in Ps. ex. the unity of the prophetic, priestly and royal offices in one person after the order of Melchlzedek is distinctly brought into view. In close connection with this Messianic king is His everlasting rule and His kingdom extending itself to the ends of the earth. But along-side of this conquering and glorious king there is still another distinct figure in the Psalms, the suffering servant of God (Pss. xxiL, Ixix., &c,). These two figures are likewise § 7. THE ESSENTIAL CONTENTS OP THE PSALMS. 21 We cannot therefore be surprised, that as Luther in his preface to the Psalms says, many holy fathers have praised and loved the Psalms more than the other books of the sacred Scrip- tures. It might well be called a little Bible, embracing like a manual in the shortest and finest way, aU the rest of the Bible ; so that it seems as if the Holy Ghost had taken pains to set together a little Bible, a sample book of the whole of Christianity, or of all the saints, m order that he who cannot read the whole Bible, might have here almost the whole substance of it, in one little book. But more than all, the noble virtue and art of the Psalms consiste in this, that while other books have much to tell about the works of the saints, they give us few of their words. In this respect the Psalter is a pattern. And there is no nobler or more powerful work in man than discourse. Besides the Psalter does still more, in that it does not set before us the poor, common-place discourse of the saints ; but the very best, even those which they held with God Himself, in the greatest earnestness, and on the most important matters. By this means, it lays before us, not simply their words and works, but their hearts and the deep treasures of their souls, so that we may look upon the foundation and fountain of their words and works, that we can see in their hearts, what noble thoughts they had, and how their hearts were affected in all liinds of affairs, dangers and necessities. For a human heart is like a ship upon a wild sea, driven by the storm wind^ from the four quarters of the earth. — But what else is the Psalter, chiefly, than earnest discourse in all such storm-winds ? Where do we find finer words of joy than the Psalms of praise and thanksgiving contain ? There you see in the hearts of all the saints, as in beautiful and pleasant gardens, yes, as in heaven — what delicate, loving, cheerful flowers of all kinds of beautiful joyous thoughts of God and His kindness grow there. Again, where do you find more plaintive, pitiful, words of sadness than the Psalms of lamentation contain ? There you look into the hearts of all the saints, at times, as into death, yea, into hell itself. How dark is it there, with all kinds of troubled views of the wrath of God. Hence, when they discourse of fear and hope, they em- ploy such words that no painter could paint the fear and hope for you, no Cicero, or any other orator, could represent them. And (as was said) the best of all is that they speak such words to God and with God as give them a two-fold earnestness and life. For when a man discourses with men in such matters, it does not come so strongly from the heart, does not burn, is not so lively or so urgent. Hence it is, that the Psalter is the book of all the saints, and each, in whatever station he is, finds in it, Psalms and expressions, which are suited to his condition and which seem as if they were put there for his own particular use, alone, in so much that he could neither put them better himself, nor find them better put elsewhere, or kept distinct, they do not blend, although they approximate in the world-wide preaching of the delivered one and the uni- versal significance of His redemption. There is likewise a reference to the Messianic offering in Ps. xl. which is, however, not further developed. Now with reference to these Messianic Psalms which have Jehovah and His salvation in view, we have a form of prophecy which differs very little from ordinary direct prophecy, save in its lyrical dress. But in th6so Psalms which have the royal and suffering Messiah in view, we have no direct prophecies except so far as the Psalmist cites a Divine decree as in Ps. ii., and an oath of promise, as in Ps. ex., not elsewhere mentioned, which, however, are there used as the basis of the Psalm which then passes over to the ordinary form. All these Psalms are typical in their charac- ter yet we must distinguish between those that are simply typical, that is, where the expressions have a direct historical reference and are covered by the experience of the poet ; and those that are more than typical, the type expanding, and breaking, and becoming transformed and transfigured in attempting to express that which is more than historical and which is beyond the poet's experience. Hence the distinction between the typical and the prophetico- typical. This is beautifully expressed by Perowne with reference to the king: "In all, some Jewish monarch, either on his accession or at some critical period of his reign, is the immediate object before the eyes of the inspired poet. But in all, the monarch grows larger and fairer than the sons of m^n. He is seen ever in the light of the promise made to David, and in that light he is transfigured. Human he is, no doubt : many words spoken of him pertain only to a human king ; but many also are higher ; many cannot, except by force of exaggeration, be made to apply to one who wears the frailty, together with the form of man." We may add with reference to the suffering Messiah that these Psalms are typical in that they are based upon the life and experience of David, and yet they are more than this, approaching at times to the direct pro- phecy in that they describe sufferings which transcend anything in David's experience, and with a minuteness of exact detail which forbids anything like a figurative generalization or poetical hyperbolical expression of facts and experiences in David's life or that of any other historic person than Jesus of Nazareth. We see the type as it is rooted in the experience and sorrow of David, expanding and bursting asunder, and growing up as a mighty tree towering above the earth, wrapt in the horror of a great darkness, and that tree is the tree of the cross. We can only understand these Psalms from the experience of David, and yet we cannot but feel that mingled with the experience of the Psalmist, entwined at times in an inextricable intricacy there is likewise the experience of our blessed Saviour. And of them all, we can say that on the New Testament stand-point, we see them united in the Messiah of the cross and the throne, the Divine and the human, the prince of suffering and the prince of glory.— C. A. B.] 22 INTRODUCTION TO THE PSALTER. yet desire to do so. And what is also excellent, when such expressions please him, and suit his estate, he is sure that he belongs to the company of the saints, and that what has happened to him, has happened to all the saints, because they all sing the same song with him ; and, wonderfully he can also discourse with God, as they did, which must be done by faith, for an ungodly man has no taste for them. And lastly, there is in the Psalter a security and a weU assured safeguard that we may follow all the saints with safety. For other examples, and legends of dumb saints give us many a work which we cannot, and many a one which it were not safe to follow, and usually produce sects and divisions, and lead away or tear away from the society of the saints. But the Psalter keeps you from divisions within the society of the saints ; for it teaches you to think and discourse, in joy, fear, hope and sadness, as all the saints have thought and discoursed. In short, would you see the holy Christian Church painted in living form and color, in a little picture, then lay the Psalter before you, and you have a mirror, fine, pure and bright, which will show you what Christianity is. Yes, you will find yourself, therein, and the true knowledge of yourself as well as of God and all crea- tures." Luther had previously remarked in the same preface : " There have in times past, been many legends of the saints composed, and people have carried them about and filled the world with passional books of exemplars, and histories, and the Psalter the while, has lain under the bench, and in such darkness, that one could not understand a single Psalm aright, and yet it gave forth such an excellent savor, that all pious hearts have found devotion and strength from the words they did not comprehend, and have therefore loved the little book. But I hold that no finer book of Exemplars, or legends of the saints, has appeared or will appear on earth than the Psalter. And if one wished that the best out of all legends, exem- plars and histories should be called out, set in order and presented in the best way ; it could be none other than our present Psalter. For we find here, not what one or two saints have done, but what the chief of all saints himself has done, and what all the saints still do ; — how they stand towards God, towards friends, and enemies ; how they act in all dangers and suf- fering, and besides this, we find therein all kinds of wholesome doctrines and commands. And the Psalter should be dear and cherished on this account, that it so clearly foretells Christ's death and resurrection, and typifies His kingdom, and the whole estate and nature of Christianity, so that we may well call it a little Bible," etc. [We will add here the words of the other great Reformer, Calvin, from the preface to his Commentary. " This book, not unreasonably, am I wont to style an anatomy of all parts of the soul, for no one will discover in himself a single feeling whereof the image is not reflected in this mirror. Nay, all griefs, sorrows, fears, doubts, hopes, cares, and anxieties — in short. all those tumultuous agitations wherewith the minds of men are wont to be tossed ^the Holy Ghost hath here represented to the life. The rest of Scripture contains the commands which God gave to His servants to be delivered unto us. But here the Prophets themselves hold- ing converse with God, inasmuch as they lay bare all their inmost feelings, invite or impel every one of us to self-examination, that of all the infirmities to which we are liable and all the sins of which we are so full, none may remain hidden. It is a rare and singular advan- tage when every hiding-place having been laid bare, the h«art is cleansed from hypocrisy, that foulest of plagues, and is brouglit forth to the light. Lastly, if calling upon God be the greatest safeguard of our salvation, seeing that no better and surer rule thereof can be found anywhere than in this Book, the further any man shall have advanced in the understanding of it, the greater will be his attainment in the school of God. Earnest prayer sprino-s first from a feeling of our necessity, and then from faith in the promise. Here the readers will both best be awakened to a due sense of their own evils, and warned to seek theproDer remp dies for them."*— C. A. B.] ^ ^ The contents of individual Psalms are briefly condensed, and often with great senten- tiousness, in a superscription of two words by J. H. Alsted, Theologia casuum 1630, in part also * [laaac Taylor, in his '^Spirit of the Hebrew Poetry;^ showB very clearly and forcibly " the relation of the Hebrew poetry to the religious purposes it subserTos," " the commixture of the Divine and the human element," in it, and the n culiar adaptation of the HolyLand to be the birth-place of a poetiy which touches the hearts of all races', from all lands and climei,by a natural imagery clothing celestial truth in such a form that they are intelligible and familiar to all.— 0. a u §8. SUPERSCRIPTIONS INDICATING THE POETICAL FORM OF THE PSALMS. 23 by Georg. Christopli. 'Ren3c]xe\,G,tharaedu8 myaiictis, 1665, and 66, 2 Vols, in 4. The Biblical Summ., particularly that of Wiirteinberg, are especially worthy of consideration. ^8. THE SUPEESCRIPTIONS WHICH INDICATE THE POETICAL EORM OF THE PSALMS. 1. Shir, standing alone or in connection with other statements as to their purpose, con- tents, origin, or their liturgical and musical treatment. This word gives prominence, in gene- ral, to their lyrical character, which the Septuag. renders by (p^p Comp. Is. v. 1, Song of Sol. i. 1. It is more specifically, not so much a joyful song of praise (Hengstenberg) as a " song," a piece for singing (Delitzsch) in distinction from mizmor with which it is connected at times, (Pss. Lxvi. Ixvii. Ixviii. Ixxxiii. Ixxxviii. xcii. cviii.) 2. Mizmor (Septuag. i/'oA/zof) is the technical designation, originating probably with David, for a song intended for musical accompaniment {fi^log). It is found in this form, in only fifty-seven psalms, ascribed to David, or belonging to the Davidic group. The deriva- tion of the word is controverted. With reference to the Piel of "IDI, it is established that it embraces the two significations "to sing" and "to play" like the Latin canare. Its radical meaning was formally assumed to be " to cut," thence " to divide," and thence referred to rhythmical divisions, or caesura, whence it was transferred to the delivery itself, or the singing. Ewald, however, starts with the meaning, " to prune the vine," Lev. xxv. 3, and derives therefore, like the Latin, putare, computare, the sense of pure, arranged, — i. e., to play and sing in definite numbers, in rhythm and time. Hengstenberg adopts the meaning to dress in the sense of to adorn, to ornament, and since the verb stands sometimes with the dative and sometimes with the accusative, and is fre- quently connected with the sentence, To the Lord, and His honor, strength and names, he assumes the signification to sing praises in ornate discourse ; to sing artistically in dis- tinction from an artless, simple manner. Keil translates it, " Song of Praise." Hupfeld formerly supposed the original signification to be "to pluck." Thus also Bottcher and Gesenius in the Thesaur. Hupfeld at present [Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenl. Gesellschaft iii. 394 f. ; iv. 139 f.) starts with the primitive meaning, "to hum." The application of the verb to music and song in praise of God, is found as early as Exodus xv. 1 ; Judges v. 3 sq.; referring to music in general, Amos v. 23 ; in Aramaic form, Dan, iii. 5. In Ps. c. the noun is connected with the word lethodah (£«?• buoUyriaiv, Sept.),=to the praise; in other cases the lamed of the author follows, occasionally the beth of the instrument, generally the cither (Pss. iv., vi., Ixvii. and Ixxvi.). The verb in its double meaning, Ps. xcviii. 5 is, sound with the cither and with the voice of song. Musical playing, in distinction from singing, is made especially prominent in Pss. xxvii. 6, ci. 1, civ. 33, cv. 2, cviii. 2. 3. MasMl (Septuag. awkaeuq or elg ahveaiv)^ Luther, " an instruction." It is the superscrip- tion of thirteen Psalms. Michaelis explains it, following the Arabic as " a discourse in verse •" De Wette prefers " an intricate figurative discourse," and refers us to other oriental languages in which the idea of poem is developed from the meaning, " wisdom," " insight," " doctrine/' Gesenius in the Thesaurus, refers the expression to the purpose of the song, to produce insight, wisdom (and piety), whence every carmen sacrum ad res divinas specians might have been thus named. Calvin, Keil, et al. interpret the word as a " didactic poem," referring us to Pss. xxxii. 8 ; xlvii. 8. Hengstenberg understands it specifically of " instruct- ing the church," but this is appropriate only to the contents of two Psalms, (xxxii. and Ixxviii.). Ps. xlv. connects it with the leading title of Psalms shir jedtdoth, " song of love," and Ps. cxlii. as tefillah, "prayer." It is, however, decisive that maskil in Ps. xlvii, 8, is in the accusative, the object of the singing, (Hupfeld who is inclined rather to the view of Gesenius and De Wette). Ewald regards it as a closer definition of its musical recitation and thinks of a skillftilly rendered song, because a clever, melodious song is equivalent to a finely artistic one. He defines it more exactly in the Jahrb. viii. 65, as a song with cheerful music, to be accompanied by clear sounding cymbals, keeping time. This is certainly pre- ferable to the former interpretation, against which Pss. liv. and cxlii. are especially opposed. Ps. xlvii. 8, however, is unfavorable even to this latter opinion. Delitzsch, referring to the Hiphil signification, interprets it as " reflective contemplation," pia meditatio, Ps. cvi 7, cf. 24 INTEODFCTION TO THE PSALTER. xli. 2 ; Song of Sol. xvi. 20, because the word occurs almost always with reference to per- sons, and in 2 Chron. xxx. 22, praises the Levite musicians. According to Hitzig, the word cannot possibly be a participle, and scarcely an object to which the meaning " insight " could be given; but signifies, according to an Arabic derivation, "form," something " formed," in general, " a poem." 4. Mikhtam occurs in the superscriptions of six Psalms (xvi., Ivi.— Ix.), sometimes pre- ceding and sometimes following the words, " of David." Jerome and the oldest Rabbins, to the time of Isaki resolve it into two expressions, according to Aquil. tov raireivdcppovog ml d-rlov Tdv LaviS. According to Symmach. i. and ii. ra-K. koL afidfiov. The Hollander Vorstman alone, of recent commentators, (in his Comm. in Ps. xvi., 1829), adopts a similar interpretation, "the unfortunate, delivered," Since Isaki, most of the Rabbins, and the older Christian ex- positors, suppose the word to be allied to ^e^ew=gold. and to signify either a golden poem, i, e., a treasure=a priceless poem, (Luther and Geier), like the sayings of Pythagoras, Ali, et al., or " written in golden letters," like the moallakdt of the Arabs. Others derive the idea of a treasure from the Arabio "tohide"=to preserve carefully (Grot. Simon et al.). Hitzig, following the Arabic, points to the meaning " to keep for one's self,"=" not to make known," an avEnSoTov, or a hitherto unknown poem, which the compiler had for the first time added to the canon of Davidic Psalms then existing. Ewald in the Jahrb. viii. 6, 7, ex- plains it as " a song accompanied with the dull music, with roaring, dull-sounding music of the cymbals." Most of the recent commentators since Rosenmuller and Gesenius follow the translation of the Septuag.: aT?j?Mypa(pia or eig aT?i?i.oypa<(>iav/ Vulg.; Tituli inscriptio ; Chald.: Sculptura recta, and regard mihhtam=mikhtah in the superscription of the song of Jeremiah xxxviii. 9. It means then either " Inscription," (F. H. Michael), now " Tomb inscription," again, "memorial of victory," or, writing==song, (De Wette), or "Song of Inscription," or better still, catch- word poem, (Delitzsch), because in these Psalms two features are promi- nent, which are found united in the Psalms of Hezekiah. This is partly the prominence given to memorial words Pss. xvi. 2, Iviii. 12, Ix. 8 (c/. Is. xxxviii, 10, 11), and partly the repeti- tion of such words, in a sort of refrain, Pss, Ivi., Ivii. and Ixx. It must be considered, how- ever, that the change of m into b never occurs elsewhere in the roots of these words. Heng- stenberg assumes an intentional change of these letters by David, in order to give, through the superscription, a deeper sense to the song, — ^to announce a secret. In Ps. Ix., the super- scription has the additional expression leldmmed (Septuag. hq diSax^v) to teach. It is gene- rally referred to the instruction imparted by the Levitical precentor, by De Wette and Delitzsch, on the contrary, it is referred especially to 2 Sam. i. 18, according to which it was to be sung, during instruction in the use of the bow. 5. Schiggajon (Septuag. t/^aA/zdc), only as superscription of Ps. vii. and in the plural, Habak. iii, 1. Since it is preceded in the latter passage by the preposition ^P the older Rabbis, and even Kimchi applied it to an instrument, some sort of string instrument and others to the kind of tone, or the style of playing upon it. But the expression " which he sang" refers to a song. De Wette, following the Arabic, adopts the meaning, " a song of lamentation," Paulus, " a responsive song," Gesenius, a " song of Praise." Hengstenberg finds an indication of its contents, referring to the confession of Saul to David, 1 Sam. xxvi. 21, and as likewise Aquil,, Symmach,, Chald,, and following them, Jerome and many Rabbis state that " Error, confusions, forgiveness," is its meaning and they associate it with historical allusions. The majority translate it, " dithyrambus " (the wandering poem, ode erraiica of ancient poetry), and explain the plural in Hab. from the manifold and confessedly mingled rhymes. Hupfeld ofiers the conjecture that the word is a cognate form, — a play upon the similarly formed higgajon ix. 17=" Poem," " song," Hitzig points to the Arabic " exact rhythmical discourse in contrast with prose." I 9. THE AKTISTIC STRUCTURE OF THE PSALMS. The poetical form of the Psalms stands in opposition neither with their religious nor their theopneustic character, when rightly understood. The influence of the Spirit of God upon the soul of the Israelitish poet, brings his poetical endowments rather, into their proper current § 9. THE ARTISTIC STRUCTURE OF THE PSALMS. 25 and controls the pulsations of feeling in his aroused soul. These pulsations, however, find a natural expression in the vibrations of his discourse, the regularity of which is sufficiently expressed in the parallelism of members, as the swelling of his thought is in general expressed in the characteristic choiee of language, of. Lowth, De Sacra Poesie Hebroeorum prcelect. mm notis, J. D. Michaelis, Ed. Rosenmiiller 1815, whose observations in laying the founda- tion of the correct view have been more fully developed by Herder, Gesenius, De Wette, Koater, Ewald and Hupfeld. For a collection of older opinions cf. Carpzov ( Introd., p. 3 f.) and Saalschutz, Von der Form der hebr. Poesie nebst einer Abhandlung iiber die Musik der. Hebr., 1825. The matter is excellently presented by De Wette, Comm. g 7, with the remarks of G. Baur, g 78, f. Independent investigations, worthy of mention, are Bellerman, Versuch einer hebr. Metrik., 1813. Saalschutz, Form und Oeist der hebr. Poesie, 1853. E. Meyer, die Form der hebr. Poesie, 1853.* It is self-evident, that the sounds of the words, as they are brighter or gloomier, and the shading of the tone in general, stand connected with the feeling expressed in them. The same is true of the rhythm, the movement of the thought, or the pulsations of feeling, expressed in the more tardy or more rapid sequence of syllables and words. And the He- brew language is particularly adapted, by its pregnant brevity and dignified simplicity, to indicate the writer's feelings, by sound and emphasis. This allows the conjecture, that the employment of similarly sounding expressions, such as are frequently found in the prophets, associated with the language of ordinary discourse, in satirical addresses, and in pithy con- nections of thought (Knobel, Prophetismus der Heb. i. 406 f.), was not confined to this species of writings. This is true also of those similarities of sound which frequently occur in the prophetic writings, on the last syllable of the verse. Sommer {Bibl. Abhandl. i. 85 f.) has actually proven, an intentional rhyme (in a wider sense) in many passages of the Old Testament, while Van Till [Dicht-Sing-und Spielkunst der Hebr. ii. 6, ^4), Carpzov {In- trod. 18), Saalschutz ( Von der Formu. 8. w., ^ 61) and Ewald [Poet.Bucher i. 104, und 269 der Neuen Ausarb.) ascribe such appearances merely to accident. But Sommer has restricted this intentional rhyme, which moreover seldom occurs, to the songs of the common people, to the prophetic expressions of earlier times, and to epigrammatic rules of life, which had orally come down to the time of the authors and compilers, preserved only in single passages, per- haps, not in their original form. This limitation was directed against the opinion of older writers, who following the example of Clericus regarded rhyme as the essential form of aU poetry, and sought to discover it in the Old Testament, as Schindler [De acceniu Hebr. p. 81 f.) and Leutwein, Versuch einer richtigen Theorie der bibl, Verskunst, 1775, ^ 51 f. The simi- larity of sound which frequently occurs in the Psalms, is not regarded by Sommer as inten- tional rhyme, from the fact that the similarity of suffixes and of nominal and verbal endings, might very easily produce, undesignedly, something similar to rhyme, in the parallel sentence of Hebrew poetry. Jul. Ley [Die metrische Form der hebr. Poesie systematisch dargestellf 1866) has attempted to prove, unsticcessfully, that alliteration, was the formal means of bind- ing together the individual series. A metrical significance in the syllables can be as little inferred from this, as from the facty that the Psalms were sung with a musical accompaniment (Van Till, p. 24). For the song was recitative singing, vid. 1 10. This musical delivery, therefore, does not point to a rhythm, dependent upon quantity amd number of syllables, but only to a general rhythmical movement in which the rising or falling, the more rapid or more tardy movement of the voice, was de- pendent partly upon the quality and partly upon the position of the words. The lack of metre, properly so called, is not however to be ascribed as De Wette says, to their rudeness, as songs of the common people. It is a peculiarity of the Hebrew songs, just as in genuine German verse (Meier, Formu. s. w. S. 243".) a free rising of the voice concludes with one or more falling passages. It is the breathing of the pulsating breast, which finds its simplest rhythmical expression in a single line, whose sense is complete in itself; and frequently consti- tute the beginning of the Psalm, but becomes dismembered in connection with the parallel- * [Isaac Taylor, The. Spirit of Hebrew Poetry ^ Amer. ed., 1862. W. A, Wright, Art. Hebrew Poetry in Smith's Diet, of the Bible, W. Bionie, The PsaXms, their history, teachings and tise.—C. A. B.] 26 INTRODUCTION TO THE PSALTER. ism of thought and passes over to a paraUelism of sentences, and thereby becomes enlarged into the verse of two lines. But although this rhythmical progression, presupposes a correspondence of members, it does not follow that this division of the members of the verse into two which rests upon the parallelismus senientiarum, is the original and essential rhythm of the poetry, m general (Herder, et al.) which, is at the basis of the structure of the Psalms (Hupfeld, Zeitschrift der d. morg. Gesellschaft, 1852, S. 53 f.). For the rising and falling in the line of thought consti- tutes the necessary movement for the members of the sentence, just as syllabic feet mark the progression for words. Syllabic metre must not be smuggled in on the other side from this remark. For all attempts which have been made, and repeated from the time of Philo and Josephus, to discover a metre, analogous to that of the Greeks and Eomans, either in the number of syllables (Buxtorf ) or their quantity (Franc. Gormarus, Davidis lyra, 1637), have been as fruitless as the attempt of Jones, [Poeseos Asiaticce comment, p. 72 f.), to apply the rules of Arabic metre to the poetry of the Hebrews. In the most intelligent attempts of this sort, we find only a certain numbering and difference of syllables, brought out by emphasis, and according to Bellermann, a prevailing iambic emphasis, placing the accent upon the last syllable ; while according to Saalschtitz, there is a prevailing trochaic, with an occasional spondaico-dactylio-rhythm, in which the penultimate is emphasized. In either case, the divi- sions of the words are brought by accentuation into rhythmical movement, without possessing a strictly metrical character. This is true also of the divisions of the sentences, where the ac- cent is determined by the sense of the words, the position of which in the sentence is of im- portance to the rhythm. The frequent assertion of the Rabbis that in Hebrew poetry, there is only a rhythm of sentences, and not of syllables, is by this fact more definitely established; and also their other statement, that the rhythmical quantity is originally and essentially de- termined by the contents, i. e., partly by the repetition of the same thought, in similar or allied expression, and, in part by the prominence which is imparted to them by antithetic and synthetic terms of expression. We do not infer from this with Hupfeld, that the rhythm was purely an internal one, i. e. a parallelism of thought or of logical sentences. In the structure of Hebrew Psalms, there is not only a measure of thought, but also a relation of form, and a parallelism, which arises from an evenness of language, which De Wette [Comm. p. 52) calls rhythmical, and Weinrich [Be poeseos hehr. et arab. origine, indole nutuoque consensu atque discrimine, 1843), syntactical, to which G. Baur also has called attentirn. Sommer in his proof of the development [Bibl, Abh. i. 93 f ) of a formal principle in different kinds of verses and strophes, proceeds from the alphabetical songs. Sommer is right in seeing in the alphabetical songs, not mere play words, nor the signs of a degenerate taste, (De Wette), nor evidence of a late date (Ewald) ; but, in part, helps for the memory, and in part, symbolic reference to their completeness, and wholeness, since only instructive poems and Psalms of lamentation present this alphabetic arrangement. Their more definite consideration belongs to the exposition of the particular Psalms. Here the general remark suffices, that an alphabet is formed by the initial letters of the lines Pss. cxi. cxii. by double lined strophes in Pss. xxv. xxxiv. cxlv., by four lined strophes in Pss. ix. X. xxxvii., by the longer strophes of Ps. cxix., in which every two lined verse begins with the same letter, which is eight times repeated.* How particular verses are to be divided, and joined together iti strophes, is in individual cases, questionable. For the particular members are not always easily distinguished, as, e. g., in the graded rhythm of Pss. cxxi. and cxxiii, and partly in Ps. cxxxvi., where a prominent expression is repeated in the following verse while the thought is still further developed. The logical parallelism of the strophes of which Ps. 1. may be taken as an example, is not al- ways clearly discernible, nor always carried through consistently, so as to render the stro- phaic parallelism a safe guide, as Koster assumes. Yet the fact is incontestable, that the Psalms are not poetic prose, but they possess, a poetical structure, of rhythmical members though not always thoroughly carried out. In the different editions of Luther's translation * [Unsuccessful attempts have been made to preserve the acrostic form in German by Delitzsch, in English by Dalman Hapstone (77ie Ancient Psalms, in Appropriate Metres: a strictly literal translaHon from the Hebrew, Edin., 1867).— C.A.B.] § 9. THE ARTISTIC STRUCTURE OF THE PSALMS. 27 accordingly, this feature is no longer to "be perceived (with the exception of Hommel's edition arranged in 1859, for song and recommended for evangelical family devotions, in which the parallelism, at least, is made apparent) ; nor has it been restored in the numerous earlier and later versified paraphrases. In the Latin Psalters, arranged for public worship, the individual verses have been, as a general rule, written consecutively. In order to restore as far as possible their poetic structure, which is important to the un- derstanding of the Psalms, and their impression upon us, and which is essential to their musi- cal rendering, — ^we must not be confined to the masoretic division of the verses as an immovable foundation as Peters demands {Psalmen in der Urgestalt, in the Zeitschr. der d. morg. Oesellsch. xi. 633). The so-called masoretic division of the verses, is certainly older than the pointings of the Masora (Hupfeld), but not always correct, as Ewald has proved (in Jahrb, iii. 128; viii. 68) from the structure of the turns of expression in the Psalms. Neither do the Hebrew manuscripts furnish anything decisive. They generally break the verses arbitrarily, without determined rules, or reference to the sense, usually into two parts so that the line in space [csTixoq) is entirely indifierent to the line in sense [kuIov] ; and by thus mutilating the text, the meaning is often much obscured, cp. Bar ii. f. quoted by Delitzsch in his Comm. ii. 452 f., who introduces passages from the Talmud and the Kabbis which require that the three so called poetic books should be written in a song style, with short lines, and even in hemi- stichs. He remarks that such a division of the Psalter is no longer to be foand in the Masora, and shows by examples, the irregular procedure of the manuscripts. He for this reason, in his masoretic, critical, edition of the Psalms abandoned the division by verses, and reproduced the usual masoretic form, only in Ps. xviii. The number of verses in the Psalter is also variously stated. They are generally put at 1612. But from a statement of Bar which Delitzsch quotes in his Comm. ii. 474, in the 19, sedarim, i. e., classes and series, into which the Psalms were divided, the number of pesukim or verses is given at 2527, the middle verse being Ps. Ixxviii. 36. The restoration of the members of the so called verses, is most easily accomplished on the basis of their parallelism. To discover their strophaic structure, the only recourse left, is to proceed from the unity of the thought, in a greater num- ber of lines of sense, taking care not to be led astray, by our failure always to find a regular and homogeneous structure. It is quite reasonable to suppose, that changes from short lined to long lined verses, may occasionally appear, as characteristic of the Hebrew lyrics, such as we may recognize in the different groupings of strophes in the same Psalm.* The method of procedure, here proposed, harmonizes with the little which we know of the manner of rendering the Psalms. * [Since the time of Lo^th the parallelism of Hebrew poetry has been generally regarded as of three kinds: the synonymous the antithetical and the synthetical or constructive. But since the first two kinds are rare in their occurrence and many of them do not differ to any appreciable degree in some of their phases from those of the third class, and since it is very generally admitted that almost all Hebrew poetry belongs to the third class and some ofthe poetry cannot without difBcuUy be brought under either of the three classes, I do not see what advantage there is in the classification. The true idea of Hebrew poetry is that the rythmical flow of thought finds its natu- ral expression, and is not checked by the external form, except in the acrostic. The thought ebbs and flows, and the expression ebbs and flows with it, both as regards the lines and the strophes. The lines are often of even length, but not unfrequently very uneven, and the strophes are but seldom uniform in their number of lines, There is no guidance for divi- sion into lines and strophes, except in the greater or lesser ebb and flow of the thought. As Dr. Binnie says {The Psalms, their history, teachings, and use, p. 137, 1870). "The pause in the progress of thought determines the point at which the verse or line must end. The poetical structure fits so closely to the thought, that a Hebrew poem can be reproduced in any ofher language, verse for verse and line for line." Dr. Wright (Art. Bebrew Poetry, Smith's Diet, ofthe Bible) cites from Bishop Jebb {Sacr. Lit. p. 20) with approval the following: " Hebrew poetry is universal poetry; the poetry of all lan- guages and of all peoples : collocation of words ... is primarily directed so as to secure the best possible announcement and discrimination ofthe sense; let then, a translator only be literal, and so far as the genius of the language will permit, let him preserve the original order ofthe words, and he will infallibly put the reader in possession of all or nearly all that the Hebrew text can give to the best Hebrew scholar of the present day." Says Dr. Binnie, p. 152, "The Hebrew poems stand alone in all literature in this respect that, with the partial exception of the acrostics they can be transferred, in their form as well as their substance, in a literal translation, into any other language One may well trace in this the overruling ^ hand and wisdom of Him who designed the Scriptures to be the fountain of spiritual light, and the rule of faith and man- ners to all nations. Suppose the poetry of the Bible had been metrical, what would have been the effect ? Why, one half of the Old Testament would have been to the Gentiles a fountain sealed. The Paradise lost turned into prose is the Paradise lost no more. There are literal translations of Homer and of Horace into fair English prose ; but, except for certain school- boy purposes, they are utterly useless. They convey no idea of the Greek and Latin originals. Had the Prophecies of 28 INTRODUCTION TO THE PSALTER. §10. THE MANNER IN WHICH THE PSALMS WERE RENDERED. The Psalms were not simply poems, originally thought out, and intended to be read, ac- cording to Hupfeld's appropriate remarks, Comm. iv. 439. They were rather sung, or intended to be sung, and that with musical accompaniment. This is manifest not merely from " the analogy of all the most ancient poetry," but from their liturgical purpose and use {vid. | 5). The delivery of the Psalms however was not so much a singing as " an oriental style of de- clamation, with a lively modulation of the voice (Saalschfltz, Archdologie I. 287) and depended on the accents. Simon Durau even alludes (Delitzsch's Comm. II. 479) to three styles of delivery for the Bible, one for the Pentateuch, one for the Prophets, and one for the metrical books (Psalms, Proverbs and Job). He remarks, however, that the melodies alluded to have not been preserved. In ancient ritual books, two styles of singing, are indicated by the accents {Z\xnz,Die synagogale Poesie des Mittelalters i. 1855, §115), but we have no definite know- ledge in regard to them, and the entire theory of accentuation, is obscure and open to contro- versy. We are only sure, that the accent did not simply indicate the emphasis and division of sentences ; but referred also to the tones in which they were to be delivered, and further- more that the metrical accents were from the most ancient time, difierent in figure and posi- tion from those of the other twenty-one sacred books. A representation of the later system is given by Heydenheim, in the Hebrew book, Mischpete ha-Tedmim, 1808, full of impor- tant information drawn from Jewish grammarians. S. Bar, rendered a similar service with reference to metrical accentuation in the Hebrew work, Thorath Emeth, 1852. He has furnished also an independent treatise, important on all questions of accentuation, in an appendix to Delitzsch's Comm. ii. 477 f. But while we may infer from the names of the several accents, which refer for the most part to their intonation, yet sometimes to both this, and the figure, their musical significance, yet the ancient metrical modulation is still unknown, and the in- vestigation of original sources, gives us but a fragmentary knowledge of the intonation of a few metrical accents. To this connection belongs, the distinction referred to the Rabbis Acha and Mocha, between the Babylonian and Tiberian systems of accentuation, which although referring to but a few points, have yet been connected with other difi'erences between Oriental and Occidental Jews. Upon these matters the influence of the Sect of the Karmans becomes more and more apparent. Of. besides the references to later discoveries in Delitzsch's Comm. ii. §519f., especially J. Furst's Geschichte des Kardrthums bis 900 der gewohnlichen Zeitrech- nung, 1862. Jost [Geschichte des Judenthums und seiner SeJcten, 1858, ii. 336) had previously pointed out the peculiar methods of employing these accents, in singing the Psalms, Proverbs Ecclesiastes, and Song of Sol. It is still uncertain, however, whether the Occidental chanting of the German and Polish Jews, or the Oriental style of the Jews of Italy and Spain, have preserved most accurately their original character. The assumption of Haupt [Sechs Alttes- tam, Psalmen mit ihren aus den Accenten enzifferten Singweisen, 1854) that the accents are nu- merical signs to be combined with the Hebrew letters, furnishing in the series of tones thus given, the original melody, is highly improbable. It is, moreover questionable, if the present accentuation represents any more than the style of delivery at the period of the Herodian temple; not to speak of the earlier method. It may be conjectured, that the style of singing was formerly more diversified, than that which is indicated by the present accentuation. The Jewish traveller Petachia, of Eegensbarg, in the 12th century states {Liter aturblatt des Ori- ents iv. 641) that in Bagdad (where Benjamin of Tudela in the same century, also found a peculiar style of singing Psalms with musical accompaniment) there were several traditional melodies, yes several for particular Psalms. The Eabbis, also, frequently refer the numeri- cal references contained in several superscriptions, e. g., Pss. vi. xii. xcii. to the number of its melody. The conjecture of Gerberti [De oantu et musica sacra, 2 vols., 1174), et al., is especially worthy of attention, comp. Saalschlitz [Oesohichie und Wurdigung der Musik, 1829, S. 121) Isaiah or the Psalms of David been written in the classical measure or our modern rhymes, they would have fared as ill at the hands of the translators. They must have remained untranslated till some man of genius arose to execute a metrical ver- sion, which would have been but a paraphrase after all. As the case stands, David and Isaiah may be transferred, without material loss, into any language by any scholarly pen. Not only their sense, but their manner and the characteristic felici- ties of their style, are reproduced, not unfairly, in our Authorized English Version."— C. A. B.] §11. THE LITURGICAL RENDERING OP THE PSALMS WITH MUSIC. 29 and Ferd. Wolf ( Udter die Lais, Sequenzen und Leiche, 1841, S. 285), that the eight so-called Church tones of the Gregorian chants, have preserved the remnants of the ancient temple Bong. The Jewish tradition, was simply a further development, under the influence of Gre- cian musical instruction, cf, § 13. Not only are eight musical accents frequently alluded to, by the Kabbis {neginoth), but the eight Church tones, are to be found in the Armenian Church (Petermann in Zeitschrift fur die d. morg. Gesellsch. V. 368 f.), and a kindred style of singing also in the Greek Church. Ewald and Hupfeld, in their praiseworthy efforts to represent scientifically, the difficult and obscure doctrine of accentuation, and to deduce it from one leading principle, are agreed in this ; — that the accentuation was neither purely logical nor purely musical, but of a rhythmical character, every masoretic verse forming a rhythmical period, whose members were marked by a rising and falling inflection. They disagree how- ever in this, that Hupfeld regards the rhythmical period as double, i. e., consisting of a rising and falling inflection, and proceeding from this basis to a still farther dichotomy, while Ewald regards them as progressing in three movements, each growing more difficult than the pre- ceding, until the course is ended. Ewald suggests a special scheme of poetical accentuation in which the falling inflection occurs in the middle of the verse. § 11. THE LITURGICAL RENDERING OF THE PSALMS WITH MUSIC. The frequent use in the Psalms of words signifying to play (often with the name of the instrument) points, apart from the testimony of the superscriptions, (c/. § 12), to the fact that the rendering of the Psahns was with musical accompaniment. The frequent occur- rence of strophaic members, with refrains, points in like manner to their rendering by choruses or even with the dance (Hupf, iv. 440). The oldest reference of this kind is found in Exodus XV. 20, Judges xi. 34. The division of entire Psalms, however, into responsive choruses by Nachtigall [Gesdnge Davids und seiner JZeitgenossen, 1797), and others, is un- historical. The chorus repeated only the refrain, vid. Pss. xlii., xliii. It appears, neverthe- less, from the description of the Book of Chronicles, associated with isolated statements in the Psalms themselves that the liturgical singing was antiphonal, even during the period of the first temple, cultivated by persons specially appointed to that office, and led, if not exclu- sively conducted by the Levitical singers, accompanied by the music of the priests. These arrangements were based essentially upon usages introduced by David, 1 Ch. xxv. 2 ; which were preceded only by the regulations in Num. x., for the use of two silver trumpets to be sounded by the priests. The leading instrument which marked the time was the cymbal, zalzal in the Talmud zelazal, referred to in 2 Sam. vi. 5, as one of the sacred instruments. These can scarcely have been the clapping castanets (Pfeifer, Ueber die Music, p. 54), but the ringing cymbals (Septuag. K{)fi(3alov) of which there were two kinds, Ps. cl. 5, the clear-sound- ing and the dull-sounding (Ewald, Jahrb. viii., 67 f.). Harp-playing was often employed minnim, Ps. cl. 4; perhaps also xlv. 9. The highest part was led by the nebel {yd^la, vavla, ipaTiT^piov) indicating, it may be, the lyre, xcii, 4, which Josephus tells us, in his Jewish Anti- quities, had twelve strings, and was played with an ivory plectrum, in distinction from nebel^ asor, or simply asor, the harp of ten strings, which was played with the hand, 1 Sam. xvi. 23, xviii. 10, xix. 9. The lower part was played upon the cither, kinnor [iitvhpa,Kc&apa), an octave lower (1 Chron. xv. 21). The straight metallic trumpets were especially prominent as wind instruments, chazozrah [aakTriy^)^ whose number, according to 1 Chron. v. 12, amounted to 120 ; then came the crooked rams' horns, shofar {aakivLy^ Keparivrj)^ Pss. Ixxxi. 4, xcviii. 6, cl. 3 ; pro- bably identical with queren=hoTn, Jos. vi. 5 ; finally the shepherd's flute or reed-pipe,' ugab, cl. 4, which was also called chalil, probably a hollow reed, vid. Hupfeld on Ps. v. 1 ; Delitzsch on Gen. iv. 21. Their use during the period of the first temple is established by Is. xxx. 29 ; comp. 1 Sam. vi. 5 ; 1 Kings i. 40. The chief instrument which accompanied festal dancing was the tof [ri/xTravov) Arabic duff, whence the Spanish adufe through the Moorish, the hand- drum or tamborine, cl. 4, cf. Ex. xv. 20. The menaannim (Vulg.: sistra, Luther: Schellen), alluded to in 1 Sam. vi. 5, in the bringing back of the ark of the covenant, were bended rods of iron, hung with loose rings, which rattled on being shaken. Likewise mentioned but once, 1 Sam. xviii. 6, are the schaUschim, i.e., triangles (Luther erroneously, "violins"). It is 30 INTRODUCTION TO THE PSALTER. doubtful whether we may infer from the expression " in the full choir/* xxvi. 12 ; Ixvlii. 72 ; that the song was partly sung by the congregation. Such a reference is favored rather by 2 Chron. vii. 3, while Jer. xxxiii. 11, E2:. iii. 10, certainly refer to certain responses. With respect to the amen, vid. 1 Chron. xvi. 36, (c/. Ps. cvi., the concluding doxology), Nehemiah viii. 6, [cf. Judith xiii. 25). But this has already brought us down to a late period. At the time of the second temple the congregation responded amen to the Levites, who sung the Psalm for every day of the week, with the accompaniment of music [cf. § 5). Ac- cording to the tradition of the Talmud, a sign was given upon the cymbals, whereupon at least twelve Levites, standing upon the broad step [dukhan] of the short stairway leading from the place of the congregation to the outer court of the priests, at the conclusion of the morning prayer, while the officiating priests poured out the wine offering, and playing together upon nine cithers, two harps, and one cymbal, began the Psalm to be sung, while the younger Levites not joining in the singing, stood at the feet of the older Levites, strengthening the music with their instruments. By the side of the latter stood also the Levitical boys, who represented the treble. Two priests who stood at the right and left of the cymbal-players, and appear to have accompanied the singers with trumpets during the period of the first tem- ple, (2 Chron, v. 18, vii. 6; xxix. 26 f.), indicated the pauses of the song with nine blasts of the trumpet, at the time of the second temple. Lightfoot distributed the latter (in his Min- isierium templi HierosoL c. vii. § ii.), following Maimon., between three divisions of the song. Gratz on the contrary, [Geschichte der Juden, iii. 116), interposes them between nine divisions of the song, and that only from the Hasmonsean period. The people fell down in adoration between these pauses of the song, Lev. ix. 24, 1 Kings xviii. 39 ; cf. Herzfeld ( Geschichte iii. 164 f.), who alludes to the gradual omission of the priestly trumpets from the Levitical music, and conjectures that the people frequently raised a shout of joy [terna) which is indicated by the word simcha (1 Chron. xv. 16 ; 2 Chron. xxix. 30, and elsewhere frequently), and thus only does Num. x. 10 become intelligible. In the hallel and some other Psalms, the congregation joined in the singing after the first sentence, which it repeated, and after the second sentence, with the hallelujah. The render- ing of the hallel was predominantly recitative. The daily Levitical call of prayer, taken from Ps. xliv. 24, was not accompanied with music at the time of the Maccabees, nor the priestly blessing. Num. vi. 24-26, with which Psalm Ixvii. begins, which was sung in the temple at the close of each morning service, in such a melodious manner that the name of God (of twelve letters) was lost in the sound of that in four letters, which was sung by the other priests {vid. Delitzsch, i. 487). The first fruits, on the other hand, were brought to the temple mount with the mitsic of ihefiute, which began when they were carried up in baskets, Ps. xxx. The hallel was accom- panied by a flute, with a reed for a mouth-piece, and indeed before the altar, on twelve days in the year, namely, on the 14th of Nisan, at the killing of the Paschal lamb ; on the 14th of Ijjar, on the killing of the subsequent Paschal lamb; on the first and seventh days of the Passover, and on the eight days of the feast of Tabernacles. On the first day of this feast, at the rejoicing in the drawing of the water, the type of Pentecost, the Levites performed, standing upon the semi-circular stair-case of fifteen steps, leading from the court of the men to that of the women, but probably not previous to the time of Herod's temple, while two priests stood above in the Nicanor gate with trumpets. Concerning the dancing which waa then conducted with the swinging of torches and with responsive songs, cf. Delitzsch,^r Geschichte der judischen Poesie, 1836, S. 193 f. In the temple of Herod there was an organ— a, real wind organ with a hundred different tones, whose thundering sound, according to Jerome, could be heard beyond the Mount of Olives, cf. Saalschiitz, Archdologie, i. 281. § 12. THE CONTROVEETED MUSICAL EXPRESSIONS IN THE PSALMS. There are a few expressions in the body of the Psalms, which can scarcely be applied to anything other than their musical execution. This is in many cases established, even when their definite significance is a matter of question. Only a few are free from obscurities. Of those whose m.eaniner is auestionablp. wa ma^r ■ma-ni-\n,T, . §12. THE CONTROVERTED MUSICAL EXPRESSIONS IN THE PSALMS. 31 1. Selah. The word occurs seventy-one times in the Psalms ; and three times besides in Hahakkuk.* It stands generally at the end of a strophe, yet sometimes in the middle. It does not follow from this, however, that it belongs to the text, and should be translated " CA^r" or " forever," (Chald., Aquil., Symm. Jerome). The word stands by itself, however uncertain its vocalization, and however contestable its origin and significance may be. In the (hd. Sin, it stands always in a separate line, and is written in red characters. The ex- pression of Justin Martyr (against Trypho, c. 37) that the word in question in the Ixvi. Ps. stands fv Siaipdl/ian points to such a position, as if a division were indicated thereby. In the Apocryphal Psalter of Solomon, also xvii. 31; xviii. 10, judging from the translation (M'^alfia, it had the same position as in the Septuagint. The word is, not, however, a syn- tactical designation, = section, as Pfeifer following tiie Arabic supposes, [MusiJc der alien Eehr. S. 17) ; but it is a musical term. It is most probably to be derived as Kimchi suggests, from Salal=\S.i!i up, not an imperative, however, " up !" " on high," which Ewald applies to the strengthening of the tone=loud : and supposes, at the same time, the cessation of the song ordinarily accompanied with softer, gentler music. Kimchi, Forkel ( Geschichte der MusiJc i. 144), Herder, and Gesenius in his Lexicon, refer to a repetition of the melody in a higher key. Bottcher [Ideen zur hebr. Worfforsch.) translates it, " cease 1 stop!" regarding it as indicating a pause. In view of Ps. ix. 17, it is rather to be understood as a noun, elevafio, and to be referred to the instruments. The word calls for a stronger application of musical means (Delitzsch, /or ^e) especially from the choir of priests, with their long trumpets, (repre- sented on the triumphal arch of Titus at Eome) standing opposite the singers' stage, in con- nection with the loud sounding of harps and cithers from the choir of the Levitical orchestra, {Somm.GT,£ibl. Abh. i. 1-82). Bottcher has also since translated it " playing with full power " [De inferis, i. 198). The derivation which Gesenius proposes in the Thesaurus (following Rosenmtiller) from a word which signifies to keep silence, but which refers only to the cessa- tion of the song, and the commencement of the harp-playing, has less to recommend it. We must entirely reject the assumption that this word contains an abbreviation of the initial letters of three words meaning sign to change the tone, and likewise the view which discovers here a summons to the singers to " return above,"=towards the beginning, i. e., da capo. Hitzig, after the Arabic, refers the word to the bending of the body in prayer.f 2. Higgojon. This word is associated with Selah in Ps. ix. 17, where the Septuag., Aquil., Symmach. translate ^^^ diafdlfxaTog as if they had read it hegjon. In Ps. xcii. 4, on the con- trary, it is connected with musical instruments, describing their tone, however, rather than the instrument; yet not as roaring music (Gesenius, De Wette), but as a summons to harp- playing (Delitzsch), for the etymology only points to the meaning "to hum," (Hupfeld). The same word may also mean " to think," e. g., Ps. xix. 5, in connection with libbi. Heng- stenberg for this reason assumes that there is in Ps. ix. 19 a summons to meditation, during the cessation of the music ; and Hitzig finds the bowing of the head prescribed, associated with meditation, and hence somewhat protracted as in the silent use of the Lord's prayer. Keil interprets it=piano. 3. Lamenazzeach is found in fifty-five Psalms and in Hab. iii. 19 at the beginning of the superscription. Ps. Ixxxviii., where two superscriptions are joined together, constitutes only an apparent exception. The word is composed of the sign of the dative and the partic. Piel of a verb, whose original idea is " to be strong ; " in Piel, " to overpower ; " or according to Ewald "to be pure, perfect; " in Piel "to put any thing in a perfect condition, to arrange, to have the supervision over something ; " hence the construction with /]}, or, as with all verbs of ruling and leading with 3. Both derivations point to a leader or master, and more especially according to 1 Chron. xv. 21, to the temple music, and the word is generally connected * [Of the thirty-nine Psalma in which this word occurs, twenty-eight have musical superscriptions, and all are ascribed to persona known for musical gifts, as well as for poetical endowments, i. e., David, Asaph, Ethan, Heman and the sons of Korah.— J. B. H.] f [For an admirable discussion of this subject, vid. the art. sdah in Smith's Diet, of the Bible, by W. A. Wright. There has as yet been no satisfactory solution of this subject. It ia certainly a musical term not belonging to the text proper, BJid this ifl all we know about it. — 0. A. B.] 32 INTRODUCTION TO THE PSALTER. with such " leading " or " conducting " as was entrusted to the Levites. The dative desig- nates him either as the Author of the musical accompaniment of those songs, (Olsh.) ; or, better, as the leader of the choir, to whom the song thus designated was given for liturgical use, who was either to execute it himself, or to exercise the choir in singing it (Saalsclfctz, Delitzsch), cf. 1 Chron. xv. 21, with v. 19. The interpretation of the word as an infinitive^ to lead the choir (Chald., Luther), is not grammatically admissible. Some expositors, fol- lowing the Syriac, regard the radical meaning to be that of" brightly shining," and thence, through the intermediate conception " shine upon," derive that of " distinguishing oneself," and hence the signification mentioned above. Herzfeld ( Geschichte i. 415) interprets it : "A^ bright sounding song," and supposes it to refer to the person who was to sing it solo. The translation of the Septuagint, hg to riMc, indicates according to Theodoret; that the Psalms so designated are to be sung, at the Jinal time when that which is foretold in them should be fulfilled. The Talmud Tract. Fesachim 117 a. takes the same view, and Hilarius' interpretation is similar, at least, since he indicates by the title in finem, that he under- stands the Psalms so characterized as prophetic, since they must necessarily contain the ab- solutely perfect doctrines, and the types of eternal good things. 4. Binginoth, follows the word just considered in Pss. iv., liv., Iv., ixvii., Ixxvi. It was probably inserted according to Delitzsch, before the leading title, which designated the class to which the Psalm belonged, and the author, by the hand of the musical director of the Temple. For this expression indicates " with the accompaniment, xlix. 5, of harp-playing " rather than " with string instruments." Ewald supposes it to depend upon the following nv:DS and at present adopts the interpretation [DieDichter, i. 251) : to the leader of the musical instruments, and more specifically of " the harps," that is of the temple music. Hup- feld regards this connection as possible, while Delitzsch contests it on account of Hab. iii. 19. Hitzig also translates it, " to the leader of the harp," which the parallel expression dl negi- nath Ps. Ixi. might seem to favor. It is ordinarily taken as status construct, which is regarded as standing for the absolute, or is supposed to require the pointing of the plural [oth], which is purely arbitrary. Hengstenberg accordingly joins this word to the following and trans- lates " To the leader of the harps of David." But the termination atk is rare in Hebrew, and the prevailing feminine form in the Phoenician (Gesenius, ^ 80 Anm. 2 a). This expression therefore decides nothing. It may mean "upon stringed instruments." The opinion, that the technical expression above continually and inaccurately translated, £v vfivocg^ by the Sep- tuag. contains the beginning of a model song, is scarcely probable. 5. El-hannechil6th, follows the expression lamenazzeach in Ps. v. The Septuag., refers it to the contents of the Psalm, translating it, v-rrlp r^g K?.T/pnvofio{ja?jg, which is followed by the Vulgate and Luther in the translation, " For the inheritance." Among the recent expositors Keil translates it, " In reference to the inheritance; " Hengstenberg, who adopts the adj. pass. translates " That which is inherited, — possessed ; " in the plural " the possessions, the lots," and in fact those of the righteous and sinners. A musical significance, however, is suggested by the position of the words. Now the flute, as a hollow reed (Hupfeld) is called chalil, and its use in the service of the second temple cannot be doubted, vid. § 11. It is not to be trans- lated, as many modern commentators, following the Chald. have done, " for flutes," but for "flute playing" (Delitzsch) ; hence el is added (Redslob) and not 6.1. In answer to the ob- jections of Ewald and Hengstenberg, Hupfeld remarks that the flute occurs among the in- struments of sacred song of the sons of the prophets 1 Sam. x. 5 ; and again at the anointing of Solomon 1 Kings i. 40, and on the festal pilgrimages. Is. xxx. 29 ; and the possibility of their earlier use in the temple music is not to be contested. Saalschutz [Archdol. i. 280), erroneously refers to Ps. Ixxxviii. 7, as an example. But a more recent Jewish commentator referred to by Delitzsch, regards it as the first word of a song of the bees, according to which melody this was to be sung, 6. After lamenazzeach, in Ps. xxxix., follow the words lidith{in=to Jeduthun, Septuag. 'iSvBoiiv. The form with ith for this proper name is found in 1 Chron. xvi. 38 ; Nehem. xi. 17 • yet, in every case, with the q^ri of the fuller form uth. The words dl-jediithun, Ps. Ixii., dl-Jedi- ihun, Ps. Ixvii., are to be explained with reference to this. Maurer's remark on the superscrip- g 12. THE CONTROVERTED MUSICAL EXPRESSIONS IN THE PSALMS, 83 tion to Ps. vi., that all the titles introduced with d^contain the name of an instrument, is without foundation. The preposition at stands before the model after which something is patterned or sung, in the Syriac also, vid. Eichhorn in Jones, Poes. Asiai. Comment, prcef. xxxii. The name of an instrument, therefore, is not given here, as Gesenius and others, fol- lowing the Eabbis, have maintained ; but the chorister of David, 1 Chron. xvi. 41 f. ; xxv. 1 f. ; 2 Chron. v. 12, who appears, however, to have received the name Jeduthun, only after his appointment in Gibeon, 1 Chron. xvi. ; while this is undoubtedly the same person who in 1 Chron. xv. is called Ethan. It is therefore the name of the one to whom the practice of the song was entrusted (Delitzsch), or the name (2 Chron. xxxv. 15; Nehem. xi. 17) of the family of Jeduthun (De Wette, Keil, Hitzig) as that of a choir of singers, to whose leader the Psalm in question was assigned for liturgical use. 7. 'Al-haggittith. This, the superscription to Pss. viii., Ixxxi. andlxxxiv., according to some {vide M.ich.ae\. iSuppl. ad lex, Sebr.), signifies a song sung at the treading of the grapes. The Sep- tuag. vTTlp Tuv lrn>Civ^ favors the interpretation. The contents, however, although of a joyous nature, do not harmonize with such an interpretation. Eedslob translates it : " for playing on stringed instruments." This derivation is, however, forced. The majority take it as the adj. fern, of the name of the town of Gath; not Gath-Eimmon, in the tribe of Dan (Chald., De Wette), but Gath of the Philistines. There is a difference of opinion, however, whether to refer it to an instrument from that place (Chald. ) or to a kind of tone and melody (Forkel 1. 1 ff.). 8. 'Al-hascheminith, Septuag., iirhp rvg hyS6rjQ, the superscription of Pss. vi. and xii. cannot mean, as is generally assumed, that the song was designed to be played upon an instrument of eight strings. It can only refer, philologically, to something arranged according to the number eight. To this, a tone is more appropriate than an instrument. In considering 1 Chron. xv. 21, the choice of the base tone, the octave, that is, the base voice, seems to be re- commended (Gesenius, Delitzsch, ei al.). The tone of both Psalms and the contrasted ex- pression in Ps. xlvi. seem to favor this interpretation. 9. Ps. xlvi., namely, is to be rendered al dlamoth. According to 1 Chron. xv. 20, this de- signates the higher part ; " maiden-like style" It is certainly not to be translated with Bott- cher (De iw/em, p. 192), ad voces puberes, instead of ad puellas puberes for the sake of obtain- ing the expression, tenor voice. But we may be justified in supposing it to refer to the real soprano voice, since Ps. Ixviii., at least, alludes to damsels who played upon timbrels at the temple festivals. But we cannot interpret it "youths," like the Arabic translation of Saadia (comp. \Haneberg on this transl., S. 47). We may think, with Delitzsch, that the com- pass of the tenor voice extends into the soprano, and that the singers were of different ages — ■ some as young as twenty years, and that the Orientals, including the Jews, were fond of the falsetto voice. Delitzsch introduces from the Mishna, Tr. Erachin 13 6, the statement, that while the Levites sang to the string instruments, their boys, standing at their feet beneath the pulpits, joined in their song, thus adding to it the harmony of higher and lower voices. Cer- tainly the passage in the Chronicles excludes the supposition of " a musical instrument," which Simonis, in his lexicon, conjectures to have been the Phrygian flute of boxwood. But we are not confined by the Septuag., ^repi Kpv^iav, to the derivation from alam=to hide, which led the older expositors to the thought of a " still, gentle style." Forkel, 1. 142 compares it to the maiden-like style of the chief singer. 10. In the superscription of Ps. ix., dl-muih labben, many recent commentators, following Gesenius, have found simply a corruption of the word just explained. The fact that in many manuscripts, as also in xlviii. 15, the first two parts of the expression are written as one word, and that the Masora does not decide the matter, while most of the old translators have so understood it, although with different renderings, are the grounds on which this view rests. The Septuag. iTT^P Tcjv /cpt'0i6)v row wot), Vulgate, jtjro occM^^is/^n. Similarly the Arab, and Ethiop., De mysteriis. M. Heidenheim {Deutsche Vierteljahresschrift fur engl theol. Forschung und Kritik, Nro. viii., 1865, S. 470) traces this translation to an old Midrash, for Jalkut ii. 613, after alluding to the two readings, here considered, translates it, " The secret (sins) which the son commits and the day of atonement expiates." The derivation from 8 84 INTRODUCTION TO THE PSALTER. dlam^^to conceal, is likewise at the basis of this view. Aquil., on the contrary, veavidrTrroc. Theod. and the five Greek translations vTrep aK/x^g think of " youth " and " youthful vigor." Similarly a pesikta in Isaki, according to Hupfeld. Luther also " of beautiful youth ;" Ewald: "The son has youthful vigor. Viewed in this sense, the word following is most naturally taken as a. proper name, especially as among the Levites, 1 Chron. xv. 18, which sang V. 20 to Nihla al hlamoth a Ben is introduced. According to the present Masoretic reading only the words of an ancient song, in the style of which the Psalm was to be sung, could be suggested. Grammatically the translation " to the (song), die for the son " is most appropriate, which many expositors understand as referring to the martyrs, or " to the (song) dying to the son "=" death of the son" (Symmach., Jerome), or "to the (song), die, expire'^ (Hitzig). Most of the Rabbis translate it "on the death of the Ben," which to Kimchi sug- gests the Levitical singer, already referred to ; the other Rabbis find here the name of a hos- tile prince. Some, following the Chald., take ben=ben, and understand it as referring to Goliath, who is called, 1 Sam. xvii, 4, 23, Isch Aa66enm=champion. Some, however, trans- late it, on the death of the son, referring it either to the death of Absalom, or to that of the Messiah. A few only understand by it "an instrument," or like De Wette and Winer, the name of a melody. On the assumption of an intentional displacing of the letters, Grotius, following a few Rabbis, mentioned by Isaki and Kimchi (wkose views, however, are contested by them), refers it to the death of Nabal, 1 Sam. xxv. 38. Hengstenberg formerly assumed Nabal to be equivalent to "fool," and to contain also, as a typical prophecy, according to 1 Sam. xxv. 26, an allusion to that Nabal. Delitzsch remarks, " If we give up the traditional pronunciation, the song may have treated of the death of the miserly Laban ; or it may have begun Death makes clean.' " But why must the traditional pronunciation be regarded as false? Heidenheim explains it, from 1 Chron. XV. 20, and assumes it to have been a corrupt reading of the genuine Pimhj; h); 11. 'Al-ajjeleth hasckachar. This the superscription of Ps. xxii. cannot possibly designate an instrument (Maurer). Its sense is (upon or) " to the tune of the hind of the dawn." The translation of the Septuagint i'Trip r^g avTCA^feag rf/g kudcv^g, Vulgate, pro susceptione matutina, rests upon its having been confounded with mS'N, v. 20. The Midrash discovers in it a symbolic reference, and points to the Song of Solomon ii. 8, and also the Chald. Targum, which refers it to the " lamb of the morning sacrifice," when the watcher, mounted to the pinnacle of the temple and cried " the first beams of the morning shine." Luther also gives it a symbolic interpretation (of the hind which is early hunted) and refers it to Jesus, who was taken in the night and led before the high council. Hengstenberg also discovers in the hind, the picture of persecuted innocence, and in the dawn finds an allusion referring us to v. 20 and V. 2, as figurative of the prosperity which follows immediately after adversity ;— in this case to the resurrection of Christ at early dawn. Most of the expositors, nevertheless, follow- ing Aben Ezra and Calvin, assume that it referred either to the name of a certain kind of tone or to the first word, or, at least, the catch-word of a song, to the melody and rhythm of which the Psalm was to be sung and which may have been selected on account of a correspondence with its contents or expression. Nevertheless, the " hind of the dawn," is not the " hind Dawn " which is chased, like a frightened deer by the sun, the huntsman (Olshausen) • nor " the morning star," (Kimchi) but the dawn which precedes the early light whose first beams are compared to the horns of a hind. Comp. David Lowy's Worterhuch des talmud, Eebr., 1845, S. 83. 12. The words ofthe superscription to Ps.liii. Umachalath, (to which are added in Ps Ixxxviii. the words leannoth=io sing, Ex. xxii. 18; Is xxvii. 21), are not to be explained by altering the pointing, "upon flutes" (the majority) ; nor, following the Arabic, "a song for stringed instruments " (Gesen.) ; rather likewise after the Arabic, " in a tardy manner "= piano (Hitzig). Delitzsch, appealing to Ex. xv. 26, regards machalath, as either the name of an elegiac tone, or the first word of a popular song of lamentation (according to Ewald a very ancient song of contrition). Keil also supposes it to be the designation of a sono- of which Ps. Uii is the translation, " concerning sickness," with the addition, in Ps. Ixx^iin 1 12. THE CONTROVERTED MUSICAL EXPRESSIONS IN THE PSALMS. 35 referring to the trial. Hengstenberg gives the same translation, (and the etymology allows of it),but refera the superscriptions not to the catch-word of other songs, but to the contents of the Psalms themselves. He regards the expression " sickness " in Ps. liii. as symbolical of Bpiritual sickness, Ps. Ixxxviii. ( to be closely associated, in his view, with Psalm Ixxxix.) as a designation of severe suffering, in which comfort was secured, through the praise of God- No use can be made of the Septuag. translation vt^^p M.at'Kcd tov cnroKpid^vac. 13. The superscription al Shoshannim of Pss. xlv., and Ixix., likedZ shushan'eduth of Ps. Ix. and el sohoshannim'eduth of Ps. Ixxx. is referred by many to a lily-shaped instrument (De Wette) ; by others to a hexachord, of the shape of a turtle (Eichhorn, in Simon Lex. hebr.). The recent expositors however, refer it to well known songs designated by catch-words — thus to " the song of the lilies," " the lily of the testimony ; " and " lilies are witnesses." Ewald translates it " like lilies," — i. e., pure, and innocent is the Law. Hengstenberg finds here a symbolic designation of the lovely bride, alluded to in Ps. xlv. This, however, does not ac- cord with the contents of other Psalms thus designated, and is also, unnecessary, from the fia,ct, that Ps. xlv., is also designated shir Jedidoih, i. c, " the song of loveliness" (Aquil. ^a/ua irpoaipiXiag), or "song of the beloved," so that beloved persons (Olshausen, like the Septuag. V^if TOV ayaTTijTov)^ or beloved objects (Delitzsch), are the contents: or, as a song of love (Ewald, Hitzig) or a bridal song (Luther) ; yet, certainly not in a worldly erotic sense, since the same superscription marks also a Korite Psalm, which is also, designated as maschal. It is particularly this statement, connected only with this Psalm (in the Septuag. elg rb rkTioq virkp Tdjv aTOMLuSnoopihuv, departing entirely from the text), which the superscription under consideration, does not touch at all. Luther puts always erroneously " roses " in place of lilies. His translation of Ps. Ix however, " of a golden band of roses to instruct " refers to a rose-shaped ornament for the head, which patrician women and maidens (noble women) wore {yid. Bake), and which David is supposed to have employed as a symbol of his well organized, government. In Ps. Ixxx. the words are separated by athnach ; and instead of ly we have vX. Hupfeld and Hitzig therefore join 'eduth=teBt\m.0Ti.Y, with the following words " of Asaph." Hengstenberg thinks of the Law, as the way of attaining salvation, the loveliness of which is referred to in the preceding words. 14. 'Aljonaih elem reGhokim. This superscription of Ps. Ivi. has been generally regarded, since the time of Aben Ezra, as the beginning of' a song, to the melody of which the Psalm was sung and has been translated to the (song) " the dove of silence " (dumb dove) among the distant ones ; namely : either men or places ; but with a change of pointing as proposed by Bochart, to the song of " the dove of the distant Terebinth." Many, however, from the earliest times, have referred these words symbolically to the contents of the Psalm, and un- derstood them either of David (Aquil., Jerome, Kimchi, Calvin) with reference to his flight before the Philistines ; or of his despised race (Symmach.) ; or of the exiled Israelitish people (Alex., Chald.). Knapp refers the words to the contents, but departs from the original in his translation: "On the oppression of foreign princes." He reads elim Ex. xv. 11. Hitzig adopts the pointing ni7X taking it as a transposition of ^^, and translates: "Dove of people in the distance." Septuag. vnip tov Tmov tov {hnh t&v dyiuv'j fiEju.aKpv/j.fiEvov. 15. Finally the words al taschchetk=" spoil not " are found in three Davidic Pss. Ivii., Iviii., lix., and in the Asaphic Psalm Ixxv. They are taken by most commentators, since the time of Aben Ezra, as the beginning of a song, in the key of which, or after the melody of which, it was to be sung. Still in that case, we should have to assume that al or al was omitted, for the sake of euphony, or syntactic smoothness. Others, following the Chald. understand the words, either as the motto or the epitome of the Psalm and regard it as a maxim, which David had at this time especially laid to heart. Cocceius adds also, that David, when he af- terwards wrote out this Psalm left it to the Church and believers of all times, that they also might employ it in the midst of opposition and persecution. Hengstenberg finds the basis of this maxim in Deut. ix. 26, and its echo in 1 Sam. xxvi. 9. Hitzig supposes the author of the superscriptions to have referred directly to the latter i ossage. J. H. Michaelis asso- ciates as also parallel to this, Ex. xviii. 28 ; Is. Ixv. 8. But the occurrence of the same words 36 INTRODUCTION TO THE PSALTER. decides nothing. It must be admitted, on the other hand, that the opinion which has become current under the sanction of Aben Ezra, is with this, as in the case of other superscriptions, nothing but hypothesis. § 13. THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE PSALMS IN THE CHRISTIAlir CHURCH. As in general the Divine service of the temple and the synagogue were the models of the earliest ordinances and usages of the Christian Church (comp. Vitringa De synagoga vetere) 80 with respect to the singing of Psalms this is especially clear. The transition was all the more natural, since the example of Christ and His apostles, Matt. xxvi. 30 ; Acts xvi. 25 ; Eom. XV. 16 ; 1 Cor. xiv. 15 sq. 26 ; Eph. v. 19 ; Col. iii. 16 ; James v. 13 ; to which Augus- tine appeals expressly {Epist. 119) to prove the necessity of Psalm singing, must have already prepared the way for it. In the responsive chants of the Christians to which Pliny alludes {Ep. x. 98), and the songs of praise and spiritual hymns to which the older church writers frequently refer, in connection with Psalms (as Paul had done, Eph. v. 19 ; Col. iii. 16), we are, at all events, to recognize an allusion to newly composed songs, simply resembling the Psalms — the models and beginnings of the later church songs. Cp. Eusebius, H. E., v. 28. Apart from the ques- tion whether such hymns are alluded to in Eph. v. 14; 1 Tim. iii. 16 ; 2 Tim. ii. 11 ; Eev. iv. 11 ; V. 9, 10 ; vii. 12 ; xi, 15-19, there are frequent allusions to original hymns, called idicjTiKol ipa?iUoij which are by some (Rheinwald, Kirch Archdologie, 1830, ^270, Anm. 8) de- clared equivalent to apocryphal Psalms. They designate, at any rate, songs which had come to be used in public worship, but were not entirely free from suspicion, since the council of Laodicea, Can, 59, in the year 365, prohibited their further use in the church, and later councils also at least limited and regulated their use. This was particularly the case at the fourth council of Toledo, A. D. 633, Can. 13, in opposition to the rigorism of the Cone. Braearens.i., A. D. 563, Can. 12, which had ordained "uf extra psalmos vel canonicarum scrips turarum, N. and V. T. nihil poeiice composiium in ecelesia psallatur." Cp. Fr. Armknecht, Die heilige Psalmodie, 1855, S. 60 f Zacharias' song of praise, Luke i. 68 f., on the contrary, continued to be used in public worship, as likewise that of Mary, Luke i. 46 sq., that of the heavenly host, Luke ii. 14 ; the angelic greeting Luke i. 28 ; and Simeon's words of leave- taking, Luke ii. 29 ; likewise the Trishagion, Is. vi. 3 ; the song of Moses, Deut. xxxii. ; his song of praise, Ex. xv. ; Hannah's song of praise, 1 Sam. ii. ; the song of thanksgiving. Is. xii. ; Hezekiah's song of praise. Is. xxxvii. ; Habakkuk's prayer, Hab. iii., and the song of the three men, Dan. iii. Cp.^on2i, Dedivina psalmodia ej usque causis, my steriiset disciplinis, 1643, cxvi., 1 13. It is, however, quite as •certain, that individual Psalms were not only so exten- sively in private use, that psalm-singing could be heard everywhere from the laborers in the field and garden (Jerome, Ep. ad Marcell.), in the house (Tertul. Ad uxor, ii. 9) ; at meal-times (Cyprian, Ep. ad Donat.; Clemens Alex., Pxd. ii. 4; Chrysost. in Ps, xli.) ; at morning and evening prayer ( Ambros., Hsexann.^ v. 12 ; De jejun,, 15 ; Clemens Alex., Pscdag. ii. 41 ; Chrysost., Horn, 1 de precant.), and from the lips of martyrs (Augustin, De civ. dei 18, 52 ; Eufiu., Hist. eccl. 1, 35; Theodoret, Bist, eccl. 4, 10); but their use in public worship was regulated from an early period, and they were employed to a wide extent. Cp. Th. Harnack, Der Christliche Oemeindegottesdienst, 1854, S. 221 sq., and Ludw. Schoberlein, Ueber den liturg. Ausbau des Gemeindegottesdienstes, 1859, S. 22-29. Even in the Peschito there are found liturgically marked passages, six of which corres- pond to the masoretic Sedarim, that is, arrangements, series, of which there are nineteen in all. According to these, the whole Psalter, " the heart of God " was sung through during the vigils preceding the festivals by the Syrian Church, which began almost all its public ser- vices with Ps. 41 (Fr. Dietrich, Depsalterii usu publico et divisione in ecelesia syriaca, 1862, p. ;3). To break the monotony of the singing, a decree of the Cone. Laodic, A. D. 365, Can, 17, ordained that prayers and the reading of the Scriptures should be introduced between the Psalms. Later, among the Nestorians, songs also were introduced. References to the prayers .'appropriated to the several Psalms are found in the manuscripts.. The first prayer which preceded the Psalms with which the service began, was called the " foundation prayer." The gl3. THE LITURGICAL USE OP THE PSALMS IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 37 same name was thence transferred to every prayer preceding a new series of Psalms. In the recitation of the entire Psalter, such a prayer preceded each of the fifteen customary divisions. From this fact the division itself received the appellation marmi^Ao^" founding." Each marmitho was again separated into four sub-divisions or subhe (sing, subho), thus making, in all, sixty sub-divisions. Cp. Dietrich, in Delitzsch, Comm. ii. 475 f. Among some of the Syrian clergy, the custom had formerly prevailed of praying through the entire Psalter daily; as also among certain Egyptian monks. The time afterwards established for this devotional exercise was the week. In the Oreek Church likewise, the entire Psalter was prayed through every week, and was divided for this purpose into twenty Kadiaiiara^ that is, sections, after which the congregation was seated. Each of these again fell into three ardaei^^ that is, subdivisions, during the reci- tation of which the congregation was standing. In this case, likewise, sixty divisions arose, each one of which ended with the doxology after Eev. i. 6. This is manifestly modelled after the Syrian custom alluded to. At the beginning of the third century, twelve Psalms were usually sung at each public service. According to Athanasius (Z>e virginit.), this began with the singing of the 63d Psalm, after each one present had oflfered a silent prayer of confession, whereupon the recital of Psalms proceeded, beginning at the point where it had ended at the previous service. Then followed biblical readings, originally without definite order, alternating from the Old and the New Testament. It was only afterwards that readings were first from the Epistles, and then afterwards from the Evangelists. Between these readings, a Psalm was sung ( Consiit. apost. ii. 57), usually a hallelujah psalm, and most frequently the 150th (comp. Alt, Der christliche Kulius i. 184 f, 210 f ; Daniel, Codex liturg. i. 4). In the ^thiopie Church the employment of the Psalms prevailed so extensively, that emi- nent women not only learned to repeat the whole by heart, but the instruction of youth was begun in it, and in Amharic the primary scholars are called pueri psalmorum (comp. Ludolf, Comment, ad hist. jEthiop., 1691, p. 352 ; Dorn, De psalt. uEthiop., p. 10). In the Latin Church, Jerome, in his charge to the priest Damasus, divided the Psalms into seven parts, one for each day in the week, to be used in the horis canonicis, which were also symbolically divided by the number seven, or perhaps eight, with reference to the divi- (sion of the days into three times eight hours. In the breviary arranged for the daily use of the clergy of the Eoman Catholic Church, the leading feature was the distribution of the Psalms throughout the week, connected however with hymns, and the reading of Scripture, and prayers. The restriction to the priests and friars is connected, on the one side, with the fact, that in the earlier vigils, which were participated in with animation by persons of all stations, the women were excluded by the Council of Elvira, A. D. 305, to avoid offence and abuse {vid. Calvoer, Rituale ecd. ii. 640). But by the Council of Laodicea, Can. 16, the obli- gatory and active participation was limited strictly to the singers belonging to the clergy. Cp. Aug. Neander's Church History, ii. 679. The service which Jerome rendered in prescribing the hours in which the Psalms were to be sung was supplemented by Gregory the Great (f 604) with reference to the chief ser- vices oi public worship, which had already been opened with the singing of one or more Psalms, from the time of Pope Celestin. For the difference in practice of the oriental and occidental churches, comp. J, Bingham, Origin, ecdes., 1722 sq , vi. 12, 34. With reference to the employment of passages from the Psalms in the mass of the Eoman Catholic Church, be- ginning with Ps. xlii., vid. in Daniel, Codex liturgicus i. 48 sq. Gregory selected from each of the Psalms which had been previously employed two- verses which he associated with the Epistles and Gospels already prescribed to be read. These initiatory verses, connected with the Psalms from which they were taken, and with the Gregorian melodies for the use of the Church, are given in Eeithardts, Psalmen fur den evang. Hauptgottesdienst, Berlin, 1856, and have still retained their original Latin names, for the Sabbaths preceding and following Easter, Esto mihi, from Ps. xxxi. 3 ; Invocavit from Ps, xci. 15 ; Beminiscere from Ps. xxv. 6 ; Oculi from Ps. xxv. 15, 16 ; Lcetare from Is. Ixvi. 10 ; Judica from Ps. xliii. 1 ; Domini ne longe (usually Palmarum) from Ps. xxii. 19 ; Dies viridium (Maunday Thursday) from Ps. xxiii. 2 (on Good Friday the introitus, intonations and doxologies were omitted ; at Easter, the newly 88 INTRODUCTION TO THE PSALTER, baptized catechumens, clothed in white garments, were frequently received by the assembled church with Ps. cxviii.) ; Quasimodogeniti, referring to 1 Peter ii. 2, followed by Ps. Ixxxi. ; Miserecord. Domini, from Ps. xxxiii. 6 ; Jubilate, from Ps. Ixvi. 1 ; Cantaie, from Ps. xcviii. 1, 2; Rogate, from Is. xlviii. 20; Exaudi, from Ps. xxvii. 7. Cp. Fr. Strauss [Das evan<j. K,r- chenjahr in seinem Zusammenhange, 1850). Gregory, in a similar manner, abbreviated and arranged the Graduate, that is, the verses of the Psalms which were sung upon the steps cf the reading desk, after the reading of the epistle, followed usually with the hallelujah ; like- wise the offertorium and the communio, that is, the Psalms which were sung during the pre- sentation of the offerings by the church between the credo and the prayer of thanksgiving, as also during the communion. He retained, however, for the secondary services the use of the unabbreviated Psalter, regulating however more precisely its use. The customary morning song was here also Ps. Ixiii., the evening song, Ps. cxli., or the nunc dimittis^ Luke ii. 29. The division of the Psalms for the week days, according to the regulations of the Benedic- tines, associated with explanations of certain passages, is given by Cartier in the Fsalmodiae ecclesiasticoe delueidatio, 1734. On their suitability to the present time t^icf. Armknecht, Z>ie H.au'pt=und Neben=zQottesdienste der evang. luther. Kirche vom liturgischen Standpunkte 1854 ; L. Schoberlein, Der evang. Hauptgotiesdienst in Formularen fur das game Kirchen- jahr, 1855 ; and the information imparted by the Evang. kirchlichen Ameiger of Berlin. A division of the Psalms for use as a prayer-book is given also by O. Thenius, i)er Psalter, 1859, p. xi. — xii., and G. Chr, Dieffenbach, Ev. Mausagende, 2 Aufl., 1859, p. 840. Gregory labored no less sedulously with reference, to the manner of rendering the Psalms. The singing constantly alluded to, was at first, simply the transfer to the Church of the chanting of the synagogue, with its responses (Isidor. Hispal^Z>e eccle-siast. offic. i. 5), which was neither an invention of the Therapeutae (Philo), nor an institution of the Emperor Con- stantine, and the monks Diodor. and Flavian of Antioch (Theodoret, H.E. ii. 24 ; Suidas, s. v. X^fJ'ig). These can only have been the cultivators of this style. Ignatius even, had introduced the responsive style of singing into Antioch, (Socrates H.E. vi. 8, prompted by a vision) and Basil the Great (f 379) refers {Ep. 96 ad Christian.) to the agreement of all the Churches in this custom. But partly in connection with the effort to counteract the errors in doctrine, which had been introduced among the people by means of attractive melodies and pleasant songs, especially by the Arians (Sozomen. If.E. viii. 8) ; there was the song proper, already preva- lent in the Orient, and although the i>a?iTdi, the appointed Church choristers, had from the middle of the fourth century Cone. Laod. Can. 15, chiefly to do with the leading of the cus- tomary Psalm-singing ; there was nevertheless rapidly developed a more artistic song, in part affected and theatrical, in part passing over into a sweec and tender style, which called forth the censures of Jerome (Ad Eph. v. 19) and Chrysost. [0pp. vi. 97). References and warnings, occasioned by such phenomena are found in Augustine [Confess, x. 33) associated with the lively recognition of the great influence and rich blessings, which he had personally experienced (/. c. ix, 633) in Milan, from the melodious Church songs, introduced there by Ambrose, and from thence scattered throughout the entire Occident. He did not learn to sing Psalms, properly so called, until later [Proem.in P». xxi.), probably in Africa. In con- trast with this artificial alternating style of Church music, abounding in rhythm and metre ; but, secundum morem orientalium partium [I. c. ix. 7) which afterwards fell into disuse, and became greatly deteriorated (Forkel ii. 164), Gregory returned to a uniform and somewhat monotonous, though severe and earnest Psalmody. He selected, from the earnest and digni- fied tones of the ancient Greeks, four, from which he derived by changing the position of the fundamental tone, four other tones. These are the so-called eight Church tones. From each of these Gregory arranged one of the melodies of the Psalms of the Old Testament, still ra existence, and in use, to which he added for the remaining songs, of the Old Testament and the Psalms of the New Testament a ninth, the so-called ''foreign tone" [Cf. Bona., Dediv. Psalm, xviii. § 4 ; Gerbert, De cant. lib. ii. P. I. p. 250 ; Antony, Lehrbuch des Gregor.Kirchenge- sangs, S. 4). " The melody rests essentially upon one tone, the first as the second half of the verse concludes with a cadence of from two to five tones, under which an equal number of closing syllables were put, while all the preceding syllables were upon the chief tone of the 3 13. THE LITURGICAL USE OF THE PSALMS IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 39 melody, only the first verse, begins with, three or four ascending tones. The length of par- ticular notes, was determined by the value of individual syllables. (O. Strauss, Ueber den Psalter ah G€sang=und Oebeibuch, 1859, S. 19). These nine Psalm tones are also given by Fr. Ad. Strauss [Liturg. Andachten der Kon. Hof=und DomUrcke, Berlin, 3 Aufl., 1856) and by Armknecht [Die heil. Psalmodie, 1855") in the present style of musical notation, ac- cording to the Psalmody of Lukas Lossius, the enthusiastic advocate of the Gregorian song in the Lutheran Church. The tonus peregrinvs was originally intended only for Ps. cxiii- (Hebrew numbering cxiv. and cxv.) and was transferred on the part of the Protestants to the BenedictuSj and the Magnificat. By numerous deviations in the cadences which gradually became familiar, the nine chief tones were extended, to more than fifty melodies ; but the power of the parallelism of numbers passed out of view since the ninth century, because from that period, as at present in the Anglican as well as in the E-oman Church, the changes were made in accordance with entire verses. Against the assertion of E. Naumann ( Ueber Einfiihrung des Fsalmengesanges in der evang. Kirche, 1856, S. 17 f.) that this was the original arrangement vid. O. Strauss, Ueber den Psaltery S. 30 f. Gradually a solemn style of chanting for the feast days separated itself from the /ena/s of the week days. The voice of the congregation, whose active participation is alluded to as late as the time of Basilius and Ohrysostom, was gradually silenced first in the vigils, then restricted in public service, to the cry of Xyrie eleison since the ninth century, from which the softlies so-called, in the courses of prayer, and the like were gradually brought to silence. The clergy, it is true, were instructed, in their own singing- schools, whose rules descended to the most minute prescriptions, as to the inward frame, and outward delivery of the songs (Gerbert, /Sfcrtp^ores eccles. de mus. sacra, 1784, i. 5; Antony, Lehrbuch, S. 150), but they soon however, dispatched their business, with a rapidity, con- trary to all purposes of edification, which Luther styles " a howling and a sounding " (" Loren and Tonen "). On the relation of the Gregorian to the Ambrosian singing vid. Wackernagel, Das deutsche Kirchc/Uied, S. xxiv. In the Anglican Church, the Psalter is distributed through the month for daily morning and evening service without the distinction of hours. It is delivered partly according to the Gre- gorian tones, partly according to numerous yet similar melodies, either by a double choir, or alternately by the clergy and the congregation, or simply by the congregation, sometimes with and sometimes without the support of the organ [cf. O. Strauss, I. c. S. 25). The list of Psalms appropriate in part for daily morning and evening prayers, in part for the higher fes- tivals, is printed from the Common Prayer Book by Em. Ohly {Evang. Haus=und Handbuch Jur gute und bose Tage, 1866). On the peculiarity of the Psalm tunes employed in the Church of England, vid. Herm. Oesterley {Der Gottesdienst der englischen und der deutschen Kirche, 1863, S. 73). [Comp. also the Psalter and Canticles with the Ancient Church Tones as pointed in the Book of Common Prayer with Ritual Song. Ed. E-ichard Redhead. — C. A. B.] In the Evangelical Churches of the Continent the liturgical use of the Psalter was still more limited and rightly confined to the subordinate service, in which, after the general shipwreck of the eighteenth century, it begins again to be revived. For the chief Divine services, Luther himself had especially abbreviated the graduale in the Formula ■missce, and assigned the longer forms to private use. This thorough-going change was wrought, however, by the introduction of congregational singing to which the German Eymn Book at present so fiilly appreciated, was adapted. This was not simply a restoration of the old hymnology, but an enlargement and deepening of its evangelical tone, rendering it suitable for systematic employment in public service. In the Lutheran Church several Psalms were added, — ^the following by Luther himself, Pss. xii., xiv., xlvi., Ixvii., cxxiv., cxxviii., cxxx. They were entirely transformed, however, into new songs, adapted to music, partly to songs already exist- ing, and partly to melodies newly composed. In the Reformed Church, on the other hand, the Psalter itself was employed as the Church Hymn Book, translated into rhymed verses in the languages of different countries {vid. ^ 14), and provided with melodies. It is however . to be noted, that the latter system has not been entirely foreign to the Lutheran Church. But it acquired only a local prevalence, and gradually disappeared as out of harmony with the fundamental view mentioned above. The chujches of the reformed confession, on the 40 INTRODUCTION TO THE PSALTER. other hand, frequently recurred to the use of hymns, properly so called. According to the records of the chief Lutheran Church of St. Maria at Elbing, the Lobwasser version had ceased to be sung in the year 1655, c/. G. Doring, Choralkunde, 1865, S._52, Anm* 3; 14. TRANSLATIONS OF THE PSALMS. Among the numerous translations of the Psalms, we can here allude to those only which have acquired an importance, either from their extensive employment in Divine worship, or from their scientific value in understanding the Psalms. Sometimes they are of value in both respects. This is conspicuously true, of the oldest, the Alexandrian version of the Psalms. For this translation, which, at the earliest arose, not before the middle of the third century B. c. [vid. g 4), among the HeUenic Jews of Egypt, has enjoyed the highest estimation, not only among the Alexandrian Jews, but also among those of Palestine, and it is of special sig- nificance to the Christian Church also, from the fact that by far the greater part of the cita- tions from the Psalms in the New Testament are from the text of the Septuagint; partly on this account also, that it has been the basis of the most celebrated of the ancient translations in the Church. It was made from a Hebrew text which cannot have deviated in many pas- sages, from the readings of the present well-known texts, which it renders with essential truthfulness, and often most happily j sometimes, however, lacking in clearness, even to the point of being unintelligible from being too literal. Since the latter had, however, not yet been pointed, we find here and there renderings which do not harmonize with the text estab- lished by the Masora. Occasionally there are slight interpolations, and sometimes again, we find slight omissions. Its poetical character has entirely disappeared. "We must add to this the fact, that a very early (Frenkel, Vorstudien, S. 62 f.) and continually increasing corruption of the text had arisen, which could be prevented neither by the gigantic labors of Origen in the Hexapla (preserved to us only in fragments), nor by the labors of the Presbyter Lucianus of Antioch, which are entirely lost to us, nor by those of the Egyptian Bishop Hesychius. And this has become all the more important, since from this Alexandrian version, — and in fact, after the koiv^^ the old Latin translation, the so-called Itala has sprung, to the text of which, the expositions of the Latin fathers refer, viz., Augustine, Hilar., Ambros., Prosper, and Cassiodor. As revised by Jerome, it formed the Psalterium Romanum which again revised in Bethelem, after the Hexapla text of the Septuag. became the Psalterium Gallicanum, and has remained as the text of the Vulgate. For, while the independent translation of Jerome of the other books of the Old Testament, from the Hebrew text, became about two hundred years after his death, the Vulgata of the church ; his translation of the Psalter, of so much scientific importance, juxta hebraicam veritatem (printed 0pp. ed. Vallarsi ix. 3), was ex- cluded, because the general liturgical use of the text already in existence, constituted an in- separable obstacle. The Alexandrian Version, was followed with more or less faithfiilness (the Hexaplian Eecension, in part) in the fourth century, by the Lower Egyptian, or ( Coptic) Memphitic; the Upper Egyptian or Sahidic and the Ethiopian translations ; in the fifth century by the Armenian ; in the sixth by the Qregorian or Grusinian, and likewise by the Syrian of Poly- carp, in the seventh by a Syrian translation made by a Monophysite which is identical according to Pococke's translation from Abulfaragii hist, dynast., 1663, p. 100, with the commonly called versio figurata (vid. Keil, Lehrbuch der histor. Jcritisch. Einl., S. 551), still later by sev- eral Arabic translations and the Gothic translations of Ulfilas. Yet we must remark that both tue Coptic (M. G. Schwartze, Psalterium in dialect, copt. ling, memphiticam translatum, 1843, p. xlii.) a^ well as the ^thiopic version (Dorn, De Psalt. ^th., 1825, p. 17 sq.), do not follow, as is generally affirmed the Cod. Alex., but frequently the Cod. Vatic, and sometimes a text deviating entirely from that of the Septuagint, containing sometimes also, matter quite peculiar to itself. * [Binnie : " The PsalmB retain to this day something of their ancient prominence in the Genevan and French chnrchee. —In Holland, a numerous party in the Reformed Church scruple, like the primitive African Church, to employ in public worship any hymns but those of the Psalter ; and it is well known that the same scruple is somewhat extensively prevalent in Scotland and the United States of America. In the course of last century, the use of Watts' Adaptations of the Psal-ua led the way to a general introduction of modern hymns among the English Nonconformists, to the exclusion of the Bible psalmody, and a similar change took place, contemporaneoualy, in the greater part of the American churches.'"— 0. A. B J gl4. TRANSLATIONS OF THE PSALMS. 41 Originating in the second century, we have tlie Feschito, independently translated how- ever from an unpointed text, although, frequently drawing from the Septuag. and sometimes from a Chald. paraphrase. This was the prevailing translation of the Syrian Church, and several Arabic translations have directly originated from it. Tropical expressions it frequently changes, and aims generally at expositions, and the removal of difficulties. It omits the his- torical and musical references in the superscriptions, substituting others occasionally, which originated with the Church fathers, and contains many departures from the Hebrew text, besides its peculiar division of the verses. A translation, likewise independent, and following a text sometimes differently vocalized from our present text, was made in the first half of the second century, by the Jewish prose- lyte, Aquila of Pontus, exceedingly well versed in the Greek and Hebrew. The work was done for the benefit of the Jewish brethren and enjoyed among them an estimation above that of the Septuag. Jerome also, occasionally, conforms to it, although he censures it severely, for its opposition to the interpretation of the Church. He endeavors to render the Hebrew with the greatest possible faithfulness, and as much as possible to adhere to the etymology, in his translation. Another Jewish proselyte, Theodotion of Ephesus, attempted soon afterwards with the assistance of Aquila, an improvement of the text of the Septuag. From this, the book of Daniel was actually taken into the Greek Bible, in place of the previous translation. The Hexapla of Origen has preserved to us of this translation, the book of Psalms, like the other books, only in fragments. This is also true of the freer translation of Symmachibs the Ebionite of somewhat later date, who attempts to give the sense simply of the original ; and of the anonymous Greek translations, which Origen could only designate as quinta, sexta, eeptima. How the Psalms were understood by the Synagogue, in the first centuries of the present era, wc can learn from the text of the Ihrgum, i. e. the Chaldaic translation of the Psalms, which is known unfortunately only in a very much neglected form of the text. This was less paraphrased, than the other books of the Old Testament. This translation, the Aramaic idiom of which resembles that of the Syriac, belongs to the group of Jerusalem Targums (Geiger, Urschrift und Uebers. der Bibel in ihrer Ahhdngigkeit von der innern Entwickelung des Judenthums, 1857, S. 166 f ), but is under the influence of earlier traditions, since we may safely say " there were written Aramaic translations of the greater part of the books of the Bible, as early as the time of the Hasmonseans " (Zunz, Die gottesdienstlichen Vortrdge der Juden, 1832, S. 61.) Luther's German translation, does not, it is true, give us the Hebrew text, in its rhyth- mical numbers, and it is defective from some misinterpretations unavoidable in the state of Hebrew philology of his days, but it is written with such a spiritual experience, and theologi- cal insight drawn from the understanding of the heart that it breathes the original spirit and life of the text. By its side also, in the Lutheran Church, the Psalter is especially esteemed as published by Joh. Magdeburgius, Frankfort, 1565, with a preface by Tileman Heshusius " In the Form of Songs in German Rhyme," and also in the Latin paraphrase and versified form, composed partly under the influence of Melanchthon, e, g., by Eobon Hesse, Joh. Major, Jak. Micyllus, Joh. Stigel et al. The Psalms by Hesse, which Veit Dietrich anno- tated, attained such an appreciation, that they went through forty editions in seventy years, serving, however, like all the paraphrases simply the uses of private edification, or aesthetic and literary ends. In the Reformed Church on the other hand " The entire Psalter of David" was arranged in the form of hymns, and furnished with tunes, and was intended, in a narrow sense, firom the beginning, for use in the Church, and obtained even in the Lutheran Church to the time of crypto-Calvinistic controversies extensive use and approval. Then the Psalter of Burcard Waldis, who after similar efforts by Joh. Zwick, 1536, Jak. Dachser, 1538, Hans Gamersfel- der, 1642, brought out the Psalms in 1553, " With New Tunes and Artistic Rhymes in order to banish oppressive thoughts and devilish trials,'" with for the most part excellent tunes, in spite of its songs of from nine to twelve lines, (von Tucher, Schatz des evang. Kirchengesan- 42 INTRODUCTION TO THE PSALTER. ges Th. 2, S. 318). Then still more the French Psalter in verses begun by Clemens Marot, finished by Theodore Beza (1562) with melodies by Claude Goudimel (1565), the teacher of Palestrina, prepared in a German translation by Jmbrosius Lobwasser, 1565, but first issued in 1573 (comp. A. Ebrard, Ausgewdklte Ps. Davids naoh Goudimers Weise, 1852). As Eymn Book of the Evangelical Churches, outside of Germany, there appeared during the period of the Eeformation, various books of Psalms, in the languages of different coun- tries. (Comp. G. Doring, Chloralkunde, 1865, S. 57 f.) Thus in the Flemish tongue, in 1540, with 159 tunes ; 1562 in English ;* 1567 in Dutch (as a translation from the French). The year 1579 brought out the first Dutch translation of the Lutheran Psalter; 1578 an Italian ; 1580, a Polish translation, still in use, by Joh. Kochanowski, after the appearance in the same language in 1554-5 of a metrical translation by Nicol. Key (During, S. 434) ; 1582 a Danish translation in which the previously published ''Beautiful great Psalm Book by Hans Thomisen," was alluded to ; 1585 a Swedish. More philological and literary interest than theological importance, is attached to the Psalms^ verse by verse, with brief expositions from Augustine and Gassiodor., by Notker Labeo (11022) in St. Gall (vid. H. Hattemar, BenTcmale des Mittelaltera, 1844 f. Bd. 2). The same is true, of the German interlinear versions from manuscripts of the twelfth and thirteenth cen- turies, published by C. G. Graflf, 1839. Apart from the translations added, by almost all the commentators, to the Psalms or in- terwoven in their works, a considerable number of translations, mostly of a poetical or met- rical character have been published, since the middle of the eighteenth century with short introductions and expository remarks, partly for the purpose of rendering them more thoroughly understood, partly to extend to a wider circle, a more correct appreciation of the Psalms. Among them, we refer to the following : Die (jooet) Uebers. von J. A. Cramer with (instructive) treatises, 1763 f. 4 Theile ; J. D. Michaelis with remarks for the unlearned (6 Th. des. A. T.), 2 Ausg. 1771 ; Gotth. Frang. Zacharia (free and explanatory), 1773 ; J. G. Hasse (in his Idiognomik Davids), 1784 ; G. C Knapp (with learned remarks, 1778, 3 Ausg. 1789; Mos. Mendelssohn (metrical in close dependence upon Luther's version'!, 2 Ausg. 1788 ; Chr. Gotth. Kiihnol (metrical), 1799; J. Chr. Casp. Nachtigall, 1797; J. Eud. Scharer, 1812 ; Stnhlmann, 1812 : Franz Volkmar Eeinhard, 1813 ; K. W. Justi {Nationalgesdnge der Heb., 1803-18, 3 Bde ; Blumen althebr. Dichtkunst, 1809 ; Sionitische Harfenkldnge^ 1829) ; J. G. Eichhom (after his death by E. G. von Hieronym.),1834; Mich. Sachs, 1835; J. B. Koster (in accordance with their strophical arrangement with introduction and remarks), 1837 ; W. Krahmer (metrical with expositions), 2 Bde. 1837 ; J. G. Vaihinger (rhythmical with expositions), 1845; 2 (Title) Ausg., 1856; G. Meier, 1850 ; Camphausen (as part of Bun- sen's Bibelwerk, retaining the Lutheran version as far as possible and with great skill), 1863. J. Maurer 1838 issued a Latin translation with grammatical remarks.f g 15. EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS. The expositions of the Church fathers, including those of Origen himself, who was not unacquainted with Hebrew, are based entirely upon the text of the Septuagint, and from the translations originating li-om it. They do not give expositions of the passages in a strict sense, but simply devotional, and frequently very practical and valuable observations, based upon them. They were frequently also sermons, with partly a dogmatic, but more frequently an ethical development of the thoughts which were called forth by them ; but written from a * [Wordsworth : "The English Version in our Book of Common Prayer was made in A. D. 1535 and revised A. D. 1539 It was not formed from the original Hebrew, but, for the most part from that Latin version which is called the Galilean Psalter, and which was derived mainly from the Septuagint and was due to St. Jerome {circa A. D. 390), and is in substance the Vulgate, or commonly received Version of the Psalms in the Latin Church. St. Jerome afterwards executed a transla- tion of the Psalter from the Hebrew text; but, on account of the previous general reception of the Galilean Psalter in the musical services of th-i Church, this more correct translation has never obtained that popularity to which, on account of its greater accuracy, it was justly entitled. The same may be said of our own English Version of the Psalter, in our authorized Translation of the Bible, which was made by command of King .James I. in A. D. 1610, from the original Hebrew. Inferior to the Prayer Book version in rhythmical beauty and musical applicability, but much superior to it in critical accuracy It will never supercede that Version in the choral service of the Church."— C. A B.] ' f [The English translations will be mentioned in connection with the Comm. at the end of the next section. C. A Bl 215. EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS. 43 New Testament stand-point, and without historical discrimination, full of allegorical and mys- tical references, continually misunderstanding the economy of the old covenant. We possess, moreover, only fragments of Origen's expositions of the Psalms, translated by Rufinus, and nothing but translations of Jerome [vid. ^ 14), for the Breviarium in Psalterium in his 0pp., Ed. Vallarsi viii. 2 is not genuine. The commentary of Eusebius Pamphilii (on Ps. i.-cxiv. hebr.) alluded to by Montfaucon ( Collectio nova Pair, et Script. Graze. T. I.), is of special impor- tance, on account of its citations from the Hexapla. The short expositions of Athanasius are entirely dependent upon Philo, in their references to Hebrew names and words : his letter to Marcellinus, however, hq ttjv ipuveiav rav ^aXfiav translated into Latin by Jos. Reuchlin, and into German by J. Spalatin, gives some statements on the use of the Psalms, classified accord- ing to certain points of view, and with reference to the riches of their contents, and their manifold adaptations to the various conditions of life and frames of mind. Most highly prized by the Greek Church, of all the works of Chrysostom, was his very comprehensive commentary on the Psalms, of which we possess little more than the third part. It is all homiletical, occasionally introducing the Hebrew text from Origen's Hexapla, and comparing it with the various Greek translations. Comparisons with the latter were contained also in the Comm. of Theodoret, forming the much needed beginnings of grammatical and historical exposition. Little profit can be derived from Euthymius Zigabenus in the twelfth century. Compilations from all the Greek fathers, and from some whom we know only by name, are contained in the Catena of which the most complete collection was published in 1643 at Antwerp in 3 Vols, by the Jesuit Corderius. From the Latin Church, we must allude to the strongly allegorical Tractatus super Psalmos of Hilarius Piktav., drawn from Origen and Eusebius, also to the Enarrationes in Ps. of Ambrosius drawn partly from dictation, partly from notes of sermons, full of warmth, enthusiasm and vivacity, and finally to the Enarra- tiones of Augustine, likewise taken from sermons {Sermones) from which Cassiodorus drew chiefly his Expositiones in omnes Ps. Schluter in 1865 drew from them " apothegms " and translated them into German. The younger Arnobius, the semi-Pelagian, based his para- phrastic Commentary, not on the Itala but upon the translation of Jerome. In the middle ages, the labor on the Psalms did not cease. But being entirely ignorant of the Hebrew, wholly dependent upon the letter of the Vulgate, lost in mystical and alle- gorical references, given up to dogmatical views, (in which some independence was exhibited, as in the labors of Thomas Aquinas, Alexander of Hales, Bonaventura and Albertus Magnus), they could not really advance the proper understanding of the Psalms. They nevertheless in such labors as these of Alcuin, Haymo of Halberstadt, and Remigius of Auxerre of the ninth century, and of Bishop Bruno of Wurzburg in the eleventh, and of Peter Lombard in the twelfth century, as compilations and Catena, preserved the treasures of the older in- terpretations of the Church, drawn as they were chiefly from Augustine, and a few others among his predecessors. The samples of Syriac Expositions of the Psalms, by Gregor Barhe- brseus of the thirteenth century, are quite similar in their character. The great prevalence of an allegorical tendency, is particularly manifest in additions of Paul. Burgensis to Postilles of the Franciscan, NicoLof Lyra, whose expositions were of a more historical character. It was quite prominent also in the twelfth century in the words of Rupert of Deitz ; less so in Hugo of St. Victor who uses the ascetic element and the popular and practical application especially in his exposition of the Psalms. We have similar expositions also from the Synagogue which labored more upon the Midrash on the Psalms than with the text itself, carrying to still greater extremes the fancies and trivialities of the Talmud and the Rabbis (vid. Zunz, Gottesdienstl. Vortr., S. 2Q6, on the Midrasch, Schdchar thob, which according to Delitzsch ii. 442 the poet Jedaja Penini ex- plained in the thirteenth century; and the Midrasch-catena under the title ofjalkuth). But from the beginning of the tenth century, especially under Arabic influence, the grammatical and lexicographical studies of the Jews have gradually contributed to the explanation of the Psalms. We know but little, however, of the Arabic translation and expositions of the Saadia Gaon except from the selections by Haneberg (1840) and Ewald (1844) ; the same is true of the commentary of the Karaer Jefeth of Boszra known through the Abbot Barges (1846) *4 INTRODUCTION TO THE PSALTER. (comp. Delitzsch, Anehdota zur mittelalterUchen Scholastik unter Juden und Moslemen, o. 314). But the first expositions of the Church, which were founded upon the knowledge of the Hebrew, and have since been extensively used, were based upon the commentaries of the follow- ing distinguished Rabbis. — 1. R. Salomon, ben Isaac (since the time of Zunz, cited as Isaki, but earlier erroneously cited as Jarchi; and even Raschi), f 1105; rich in correct explanation of words, but richer still in Judaistic frivolities, with traditions from the Midrash and the Tal- mud scattered through it in great profusion. 2. E. Abraham ben Meier, ben Ezra, usually Aben Ezra, f 1167, especially important for his citations from older commentators' philologi- cal investigations, whose works are lost, but more ingenious than happy in his own inferences. 3. E.. David Kimchi, f 1250, chiefly grammatical and historical in his expositions but con- sciously opposed to the Church, and especially to Messianic interpretations. Among the latter expositors, Delitzsch praises the conciseness and clearness of the commentary of Obadia Sforno, 1 1550, the teacher of Eeuchlin. The value of the newly acquired philological helps to exposition, were in the Roman Catholic Church especially recognized in the sixteenth century by Aug. Justiniani, in selec- tions from the Midrash and Sohar, by Pagnini and Felix Pratensis in reference to the text and translation, and by Genebrardus, with reference to their exposition ; in the seventeenth century especially by Anton Agellius, De Muys, M. Este, and Bellarmin while by Cornel, a Lapide, and Joh. Maldonat, the usual views of their most eminent predecessors were trea- sured up : in the Analysis of the Jesuit Le Blanc and in th.Q Commentarius in ps. in 6 folios, by John Lorinus, exposition was swallowed up in Scholasticism. In the eighteenth century the current turned in favor of the practical and religious tendency through the expositions of De Lacy, Berthier, and La Harpe, but especially in the Comment. Liter alls of Calmet, the Benedictine, a learned and reflective method was again realized, which in the nineteenth century acquired a profounder and fresher tone, under the stimulus of Protestant exegesis. This is apparent in the translations of the Old Testament, began by Brentano and continued by Dereser and Scholtz ; and particularly in the exposition of the Messianic Psalms by Joh. Bade (1851), and Laur. Reinke (1857); in Peter Schegg (1857 f.), Translations and Ex- position of the Psalms for the *^ Information and Consideration " of a large circle of readers ; and in the ^'Theologie der Fsalmen," by J. Konig (1857). As "Beitrag zum erbaulicken Schriftstudium " and as "Trost und Erbauungsbuch " there appeared the metrical translation of the Songs of David, Joh. Bapt., Konig, 5 Bde., 1830, and W. von Gulick, 1858, described " das Psalierium nach seinem Hauptinhalte in seiner wissensch. und prakt. Bedeutung '\ There appeared in the period of the Reformation, important for all subsequent times, in this domain, the expositions of Luther (since 1519), especially on the penitential Psalms, and those of Calvin (1564), edited by Tholuck (1836). The former whose whole heart was in the Psalter was distinguished especially for his grasp of the unity of both testaments, although Messianic and at times allegorizing in opposition to the principles which he himself so energetically announced; the latter historical and psychological in prevailing typi- cal exposition ; and both were executed with warm appreciation of their religious and ethical contents. A spirit kindred to that of Luther's exposition of the Psalms, speaks forth from the Interpretatio in Librium Ps. (1524), by Joh. Bugenhagen, with a preface and commendatory notice by Luther. It has for two centuries fructified this field of labor. Upon it was based the commentary of Joh. Brenz ( 0pp. 1578 sq.)^ the Hypomnemata of Victorin. Strigel, 1563 ; the Brevis ac perspicua explicatio in the Biblia of Luc. Osiander 1588 sq. (many times also in German); the Comment. in Ps. passionales ; decern priores ; graduum/poenitentiales of Joh. Tarnow since 1621 ; and the Adnotationes also of John Quistorp 1648, contributed by learned exegesis towards understanding the Psalms, whilst on their foundation, such comprehensive labors as "Der ganze Psalter," by Selnecker \x\.fol. (1565) 1581 ; the Enarratio Pss. by MoUer in 3 vols. 1573 originating from lectures ; "Auslegung aller Psalmen," by Hieron. Menzel 1694; the Commentary of Gesner in fol. 1609 ; along with his Meditatio genera lis Psalterii 1597 • the Comment, aureus, by Erp. Schnepf, 1619 ; the Psalter, of Eckhard in fol. 1624 ; the Cith- aroedus mysticus by G. Chr. Renschel, 2 Bde. 4, 1666 ; the Labores psalteriales iheoretico-prao- g 16. EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS. 45 iici, by Christ. Dauderstadt, in fol. 1679 ; and especially the Comment, exeget. practi. by Reinhard Bake, full of rich and interesting information (1664) 1683, explained their religious value, although at times very dogmatically and schemingly, and were the means of their practical Valuation until finally Abrah. Calov in the Biblia illustrata 1672 sq. and Mart. Oeier in the Coram, in Pss. (1688), 1709/o^.., employed the contributions of their predecessors in learned independent labors written from the stand-point of the dogmatics of the church, and Joh. Arndt expounded and explained "Den ganzen Pscdter Davids, des Konigs und Pro- pheten" in 451 sermons, 1686 fol. We must also here allude to Valer. Herbergers "Paradies- hlumblein " from the pleasure garden of the 150 Psalms (2nd Aujl. mil Vorwort von C. M. Otto 1862) brought by the author only down to Ps. xxiii. 3, and after his death in 1867, continued by his son Zacharias. In the Reformed Church before the time of Calvin, the Pss. Lihri Vad Ebr. veritatem versi et elucidati by Martin Bucer, originally published in 1526 in fol. under the name of Aretius Felinus, deserves a special mention ; and also the Comment, of Conr, Pellicanus, 1532 ; after Calvin, besides the compilation of Aug. Marloratus 1562, and that of Wolfg. Musculus 1550, and Joh. Piscator, f 1626, in the Comment, in nmnes JAhros V. T. 1646, that of Mos. Amy- raldus, Paraphras.in Pss. cum annott. etargum, 1662, is particularly valuable, on account of its careful presentation of the contents and their connection. Principally derived from Cal- vin, and appearing contemporaneously, (1556), is that of Rob. Stephanus, generally cited under the title of Vatdbulus, and with an annotated translation of the lAber Pss. Davidis ; afterwards republished with notes from Grotius by G. J. L. Vogel 1767. By false use of his- tory and parallel expressions of heathen writers, the theological understanding of the Psalms does not receive its just value from Grotius {Annottat. 1644) ; while in spite of his linguistic attainments, the historical exposition of Joh. Coccejus {Comm. in Pss. Davidis, 1660) is spoiled by his false typology. Hence the judgment of former times, that Grotius finds Christ nowhere, Coccejus, everywhere in the sacred Scriptures. Richly suggestive, very peculiar but too much given to historizing is the Latin paraphrase with an Introduction and notes by Ezron Riidinger (1580 and 81 in 4), first a pupil with Melanchthon at Wittenberg, and after- wards Prof, among the Bohemian brethren. Of permanent importance are the three vols, of the Critici sacri, and two vols, of /Synopsis criticor., of Matthew Polus, expositions compiled from learned investigators of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The learned side of the Ps. was represented in the eighteenth century, by Joh. Clericus, in the style of Grotius, but with still greater theological shallowness {Libr. hagiograph. edited after his death by J. Barbayrac 1731) ; by Herm. Venema {Comment, in Pss. 6 vols. 4to, 1762 aj.), critical, but without' taste; by J. H. Michaelis {Annott. uberior.,1720), with comparison of dialects and many selections from his predecessors ; by J. A. Dietelmair (1755) in vol. 6 of the so-called English BibleworJc, predominantly practical and popular in its purposes ; it acquired a deeper theological character in the style of Bengel through Phil. Dav. Burk ( Gnomon 2 vol. 4, 1760) and Chr. Aug.- Crusius {Hypomnemata, 1764), which was lost again in mere verbal exposition, with numerous untenable citations from the dialects, which Gottl. Ringeltaube, in his translation, with notes, 1790, of the first fifty Psalms, made use of in a more judicious manner. Among the interpretations in Germany intended especially for edification, the most prominent are those of Aug. Herm. Francke, published by his son, G. A. Francke, in two vols. 4to. Erkldrungen der Psalmen Davids (1730) and Introductio in Psalterium generalis et spe- cialis (1734 in 1 vol. 4) ; Joachim Lange, Davidisch-Salomonisches lAcht und Becht 4 (1735) ; Sigm. Baumgarten, Erbauliche Erklarung 2 Bde. 4 (1759) ; Joh. Dav. Frisch, Nea- Uingende Harfe Davids (3 Auf,. 1731) ; C. Herm. Rieger, Kurze Betrachtungen (2 Aufl. 1859) ; Fr. Chr. Oetinger, Die Psalmen Davids nach den 7 Bitten des Oebets des Herrn^ neue verbess. Auf,. 1776 (also in the Sdmmtlichen theosophisch. Schriften Oetingers Bd. iii., newly edited by Ehmann). Valuable hints may be also found in the Beitrdge zu J. A. Bengela Schrifterkldrung^isBuedhj Osc. Wachter, 1865. The Berlenburger Bible (1772 ff.), 2 Ausg. 1756 f. is to be used with even greater caution for the Old Testament than for the New ; like- wise Emanuel Swedenborg's Condensed Exposition of the inner sense of the Prophetical Books of the Old Testament, and the Psalms of David, 1852. 48 INTRODUCTION TO THE PSALTER. The Scholia of E. R C. Rosenmuller, especially in the 2d ed, 1821 sq., 3 vols, (condensed into 1vol. 1831) have acquired a lasting*value in the nineteenth century, on account of their selections from the ancient translations and Eabbis and rare treatises. De Wette 1811 (5 Aufl. by G. Baur 1856) gave a new impulse to the exposition of the Psalms, in represerfting them after Herder as the national poetry of the Hebrews; likewise J. B. Koster 1837, by empha- sizing their atrophic arrangement; H. Ewald also 1836, (3 Aufl. 1866 as the 2d part of ''Die Dichter des A. B" the 1st part of which, 1839, 2 Aufl. 1866, contains the important General Introduction to Hebrew Poetry), by his remarks respecting the origin and contents of the poetry of the Psalms, their turns of expression and the like; F. Hit- zig in the Historical Commentary, 1836, attached to his Uebersetzung der Psalmen, 1836 (both fally revised 1863, *65), by his ingenious, although sometimes far-fetched philo- logical, critical, and historical remarks, which aimed to establish a positive criticism, in the place of the mostly negative criticism of De Wette ; J. Olshausen, 1853, by philological minuteness and severity, which yet is accompanied with many complaints as to the corruption of the text, and a conjectural criticism, just as extended as in the spinning out of assumptions of Hitzig of Maccabean Psalms, falling into a groundless historical criticism; H. fiupfeld, 1855 to 1862 (4 Bde.) [H. Aufl. herausgegehen von Ed. Riehm, 1869 sqq. with many valuable notes by the editor. — C.A.B.], by his thoroughness as to the language and history with attempts at bibli- cal and theological exposition, which, however, are frequently disturbed, and diverted from the right track by his opposition to Hengstenberg, which is carried out even to bitterness. The commentary of the latter is far richer in its contributions of every sort (4 Bde., 1842-47. II. Aufl., 1849-52) [Eng. translation, 3 vols., Edinburgh, 1857, J. B. H.], and is more judicious than L. Clauss [Beitrdge 1831) and R. Stier (70 ausgewahlte Psalmen, 1834-36, 2 Bde.), and has again decidedly resumed the path of the views of the Church. This, in connection with the Commentary of Fr. Delitzsch (2 Bde., 1859, '60) [Neiie Ausarbeitung mit Beiirdgen von Prof. Fleischer und Wetzstein, 1867, in connection with the series of Comm. on the Old Testament by Keil and Delitzsch, English Translation, 3 vols. Edin. 187L— C. A. B,] rich in spiritual perception and rabbinical learning, is especially to be commended to students. The Ausle- gung of C. von Lengerke (2 Bde. 1847), is a worthless compilation from Hitzig and Heng' stenberg. G. Ph. Kaiser, Zusammenhdngende historische Erkldrung, 1827, is unimportant. Worthy of consideration, however, is the commentary of C. Bohl (12 Messian. Psalmen, 1862) and Kurtz, Zur Theologie der Psalmen, 1865; likewise Fr. Bottcher, Neue exegetlsch-kritische Aehrenlese, Ahtheil. 2, 1864, published after the author's death by Ferd. Miihlau. In addition to several translations with notes alluded to at the end of § 14, the following occupy the middle ground between the learned and practical exposition of the Psalms : Tholuck, " Uebersetzung und Auslegung der Psalmen fur Oeistliche und Laien " 1843 [Eng. Translation, Phila., 1858] ; Fr. C. Umbreit, " Christliche Erbauung aus dem Psalter," 2 Ausg. 1848; with which we have to compare the same author's" Orundtone des ^. V. " 1843 " Keue Poesle aus dem A. Tl" 1848. Appropriate remarks and practical hints are found not only in the works of the Old Testament by Lisco and 0. von Gerlach but also in H. and W. Eichter, Erkldrie Hausbibel, 1834-40. From the number of works on the Psalms for practical use, the following are specially worthy of mention : Christ. Gottf. Koster, " Die Psalmen, mil Einl. und Anm^rh. ah Hand- buch der Erbauung fur fromme Oemuther;' 1832 ; Erich Stiller, " Die Psalmen als Er- bauungsbuch" (1852), 3 Aufl. 1862 ff; Fr. J. Gunther, '' Chri^tliche Andachien fiber die Psal- men 1856 ; G. J. L. Reuss, Die Psalmen zum Oebrauch in den sogenannt&n Befstunden " 1860; F. Schaubach, '' Ausgewahlte Psalmen im Anschluss an die Evangel, des Kirchenjah- res " 1863 ; P. Diedrich, Die Psalmen kurz erklart fur heilsbegierige, aufmerksame Bibellese 1862-64 ; E. Taube, Eurze Auslegung, 1858 ff. (for the present 4 Hefte embracing 25 Psalms each). We have finally to mention in this connection Irmler, Die Psalmen als Choralgesange 1835; M. M. Zille, Die Psalmen meist nach kirchl. Sangweisen ilbersetzt, 1844; E. Miiller Davidsharfe, Eur Kirche, Schuh und Haus, 1844 ; Hoflferichte, Deutsche Akkorde auf der davidischen Harfe, 1845 ; Fr. Aug. Kothe, Die Pmlmen in Kirchenmelodien iibergetraqen 1845 ; S. F. G. Schneider, Die Psalinen Davids in Eirchenli^dem fur die hdusliche Anda hi _ \ 15. EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS. 47 1854; Chr. Blumliardt, PWw^iec^er, 0£?er d/U Psalmen in singbare Lieder umgesetzf [IBiS] , 2 Aufl. 1864 ; H. von Sydow, Sabbathweihe, Bearheitung der Psalmen Davids von frommen deutschen Dichtem, 1859 ; H. Eytel, Der Psalter im modernen Gewande, 1862 ; Jos. Hammer, Die Psalmen der Heil. Schriftin Dichtungen, nebst Elnleitung und Erlduterungen, 1861. [Englisli literature is rich in expositions of individual Psalms. The Puritan divines es- pecially expounded them at length in sermons, often with judicious explanations and applica- tions, but not unfrequently transcending the proper sphere of the text. These are mentioned and cited in Spurgeon's Treasury of David (1870-72). The prince of devotional commenta- tors is Matth. Henry, whose work on the Psalms is a model of its kind. Scott is likewise useful. Bishop Home's Devotional Comm. first ed., 1771, 2 vols, (often republished), with an introduction by Edward Irving (Glasgow ed., in 3 vols.), has found a wide circulation and appreciation. Among the translations and critical commentaries we may mention Ham- mond's Paraphrase with notes (first ed., 1653, new ed., 1845) ; Bishop Horsley's Translation and Notes (1815, posthumous) ; Dr. Mason Good's Historical Outline and also his Translation with notes: J. Jebb's Literal translation and dissertations (1846) ; Phillips' Psalms in Hebrew text, with exeg. andphil. commentary for Hebrew students; J.Addison Alexander, 7%ePaa/m« tran- slated andexplwined (N.Y.,1850, 3 vols., mainly based upon Hengstenberg, yet with original and valuable suggestions and a thorough digestion of Hengstenberg's views and a rejection of much that is inappropriate) ; Noyes' New Translation with an Introduction (1851, Zd ed., 1867) ; B. Weiss, New Translation and chronological arrangement with critical notes on the Hebrew text (1858). Among the more recent works we may mention : Thrrpp's Emendations [Journal of Class, and Sacred Phil. 1850) ; J. M. Neale, Comm. on the Psalms from Primitive and Medie- val Writers and from the Various Office-books and Hymns of the Soman, Mozarabic, Ambro- sian, Gallican, Greek, Coptic, Armenian, and Syrian rites, 3 vols. (London, 1860, 2c? ed., revised by R. F. Littledale, 1869-71, a mystical and liturgical Commentary, a revival of the Mediaeval methods of interpretation) ; Perowne, The Book of Psalms, a new Translation with Introduction and Notes explan. and crit. (London, 1864-8, Id ed. revised, 1870, a very judi- cious, able, and valuable work) ; Wordsworth, The Book of Psalms (London, 1867, as part of his Cmnm. on the Holy Bible, a learned work full of citations from the fathers, yet fanciful and finding in the Psalms " a prophetic Creed," "the great doctrine of Christian Faith gradually revealed with greater clearness and fulness ") ; Didham, A new Trans, of the Psalms, Part L, Pss. i.-xxv. (1869) ; W. S. Plumer, Studies in the Book of Psalms, being a critical and exposit. Comm. with doct. and pract. remarks on the entire Psalter (Phil a., 1870) ; Wm. Kay, The Psalms translated from the Hebrew, with notes chiefly exegetical (Lond., 1871) ; Albert Barnes, Notes crit, explan. and pract. on the Book of Psalms (New York, 1871, 3 vols., an excellent work for the home and the school) ; Henry Cowles, The Psalms with notes crit. explan. and pract. designed for both pastors and people (New York, 1872). The most important homiletical and practical work of the age on the Psalter is the Treasury of David, by Charles H. Spurgeon, 3 vols, of which have been issued (London, 1&70-72), full of the force and genius of this celebrated preacher, and rich in selections from the entire range of literature, especially from the Puritan divines. This work will probably be completed in six vols. The articles on the Psalms in Smith's Diet, of the Bible, and Kitto's Cyclopsedia may be consulted with profit • and as a " pathway into the Psalter,"' W. Binnie, The Psalms, their History, Teachings and Use (London, 1870) ; and for the peculiarity and genius of the poetry of the Psalter, the work of Isaac Taylor on the SpiHt of Hebrew Poetry. We must finally mention the excellent Bevised Version of Dr. Conant, with an introduction, pub. by the American Bible Union, 1871. An improved version with brief philological notes was prepared by Dr. Conant for this volume.— C. A. B.]. THE PSALTER. FIRST BOOK. PSALMS I.— 2: LI. PSALM I. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor standeth in the way of sinners, Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord ; And in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That bringeth forth his fruit in his season ; His leaf also shall not wither ; And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so : But are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous ; But the way of the ungodly shall perish. EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL. Division and Composition. Four Codd. Ken- nic, and 3 De Rossi, as many of the Jews and the Fathers take the first and second Psalms to- gether as one whole ; comp. Wetstein on Acts xiii. 33, where the Apostle. Paul cites a passage from our second Psalm as from the first Psalm (according to the corrected reading). This how- ever does not decide, for two Codd. De Rossi do not number our Psalm at all, and the Apostle Paul may have shared that conception, in ac- cordance with which Basil calls it a "short pre- face" which the compiler placed before as an introduction (Calvin, Amyraid [Hupfeld, Riehm, Hitzig, et alii]). Besides some similarity in the structure of the strophes, there are, it is true, turns in the closing verse of the 2d Psalm which are strikingly similar in part to the beatitude with which the 1st Psalm begins, and in part to the threatening with which the 1st Psalm closes; and in the hagah, Ps. ii. 1, there is an antitheti- cal reference to Ps, i. 2. These facts cannot be overlooked. But with the diversity of subject and treatment which otherwise prevails, they do not even justify the conclusion of one and the same author, whom Hengstenberg supposes to be David, Hitzig the compiler of the Psalms. These are not without predecessors. ISeverthe- less, design may be acknowledged at any rate only with reference to the arrangement, and not with reference to the poetry. This is clear from the following facts : (1) that two Psalms, with- out titles, should stand at the beginning of a group of Psalms which have David's name in their titles, the second of which carries out into a concrete historical situation the truth ex- pressed in Ps. i. in general terms ; (2) that the entire first book is opened (i. 1 ; ii. 12) as well as closed (xl. 4; xli. 1) by two Psalms, with "'^K'N ashri. But Ps. xxxii. of the same book likewise begins with ashre, so also Pss. cxii. ; cxix. ; cxxviii. in a later book. Again, the mention of David as the author by some of the Fathers and of the MSS. of the Sep- tuagint has no historical foundation. The his- torical application of the subject to the persecu- tion of David by Saul (Venema) or to the rebel- lion of Absalom, is a false use of history. So likewise the explanation from the circumstances of the Maccabean age (Riidinger, Olshausen,* * [This Olshausen is an entirely diflTerent person from the author of the well-known commentary on the New Testa- ment. J 49 60 THE FIRST BOOK OF PSALMS. Hitzig). We would urge against so late a com- position not so much the simplicity and fresh- ness of the Psalm (Koster) as the following con- siderations : 1) The designation of the scorner leads to the sententious style of the age of Solo- mon, to which also the loose structure of the strophes points [Delitzsoh]. 2) Ver. 2 decidedly looks back to Josh. i. 8, whereas ver. 3 is car- ried further out in Jer. xvii. 5-8. Ezech. xix. 10, 11 expresses only a corresponding thought in a similar form [Riehm]. The same idea is particularized, Ps. xcii. 12. There is a possible allusion, 2 Chron. xxii. 5. [Ewald supposes this Psalm to be an introduc- tion to a more ancient and smaller collection of Psalms, giving the pith of many of them, the dis- position with which an ancient poet selected and grouped them, and the spirit with which he would have them read. Delitzsch says that the collections of the prophecies of Isaiah and the Psalms are alike in that they both begin with a prologue. Barnes considers it as a general introduction to the book of Psalms, stating the general principle of the Jewish theocracy, " that a righteous life will be attended with prosperity and happiness, and that the life of the wicked will be followed by sorrow and ruin."* The true view is this : The Psalm was probably composed as an introduc- tion to the earlier collection of the Davidic Psalms, made in the age of Solomon, perhaps un- der his direction, retaining its place at the head of the entire collection after it had been formed. — C. A. B.] Of the three verses of the 1st strophe, two are of many members; those of the 2d strophe are all of two members, but they run along en- tirely parallel in their subject, that is : the de- scription of the righteous and the wicked ac- cording to their respective behaviour and destiny. Sir. I. Ver. 1. '''\Wii = AshrS, etymologically, from the signification of the straight and direct course, gives the idea of welfare, grammatically, it is an exclamation of congratulation, or rather a declaration of recognition and of praise: beati- tudines illius viTi.-\ The substantive renders the language more emphatic than the verb fin., Ps. xli. 2, or the panic , Prov. iii. 18. Luther aptly : " The prophet, when he sees that there are few such people on earth, suddenly bursts forth and says, 'Blessed is the man.' " The use of the plural to mark the abstract with emphasis is ancient, especially in the He- brew (EwALD, AusfUkrliches Lehrbuch VII. Ausg. I 179). * [Wordsworth regards the two first Psalms " as distinct, and as constituting a general introduction to the whole book, and as addressed to the whole world ; and aa the whole book is a composite one, not due to David alone, these two Psalms, which are a prologue to it, are not identified with him. These two Psalms form a pair. The first of them looks backward to the law of Moses (ver. 2) ; the second looks for- ward to the Gospel of Christ. They join the two Testaments together. Both of them speak of the blessings of obedience and of the malediction which is reserved for rebellion against God. They stand at the beginning of the Psalter, like a Ge- nzim and an Ebal ; — and they revt-al the awtul transactions of the Great day of Doom, when the Judge will gather all nations before Him, and place some on the right hand and others on the left."— C. A. B.] t[Hupfeld: Like the formula of the beatitudes, Matth. v. Walketh — standeth — sitteth, etc. — The three perfects in ver. 1, the change of the verbal into a nominal sentence in ver. 2 a, Ihe future (correctly called imperf. by Ewald) in ver. 2 b give a shading to the thought. This shading cannot be entirely expressed in translation ow- ing to an entire difference between the Hebrew and the English conjugations. It is effaced by the remark of Aben Ezra that the Hebrew au- thors used for the present partly the preterite and partly the future. [The perfect is used to give the abstract present of our language, indi- cating an already long-continued and still en- during conditioii or characteristic, vid. Ges. Heb. Gram., edit. Rodiqeb XX. Auf. ^ 126. EwALD, g 135. Barnes: "It is the character- istic of the man, always and habitually that he does not thus walk." — C. A. B.] It is questionable whether the three members of ver. 1 form only three parallel clauses of like signification as poetical variations of the thought that we must have no intercourse at all with evil in any way (Musculus, Rosenm., De Wette, Hengst., Hupf.), or whether there is not illus- trated in the choice of expression an intensifica- tion of the possible participation in the chief forms of iniquity (Aben Ezra, Stier, Delitzsch, Hitzig [Barnes)] somewhat after the type impii corde, peccatores opere, illusores ore. By the for- mer view we are usually referred to the asser- tion of David Eimchi, that going, standing, and sitting are the three chief conditions of the hu- man body when awake. The latter view is not shaken by the fact that we cannot ascribe to J^iy") ra,sha\ etymologically the meaning of wild restlessness, and passionate agitation, whence follow disturbances of the peace (Geier et alii). Hitzig supposes from the iElhiopic that the fun- damental meaning is forgetfulness (of God). Bdltcher [Neue ezeget, crit. Aehrenlese, II. 220), likewise from the uEthiopic interprets it as greasy, stained, soiled, and hence derives the idea of guilty. Hupfeld finds in the idiomatic use of the word a simple contrast to pHlf. This general meaning, extending far beyond the idea of guilty (Sachs), suits very well the use of the word in the 2d strophe of the Psalm. In any case the characteristics of rasha'im, given in Is. Ivii. 20, remain essentially indisputable, and the statement is of a H^fj; == council of these same persons who might serve as a model and measure for the walk of others. This is shown by the construction of halach with 3. This ex- pression always refers to the sphere of sinful emotions of the heart whether we are to think of the resolutions of the will formed within the heart or the counsel imparted to others. [Hup- feld states that n^fJT, like the Latin consilium, has a twofold meaning: 1) absolutely, a resolu- tion formed within the heart ; 2) relatively, work- ing upon another either as example or advice. He thinks that it is here used in the relative sense especially as example.— C. A. B.] There is no occasion for the correction mj; gdah = congre- gation, company (Olsh., Emendationen zu?n A. T., 1826). For there is no reference to place except in moshab, whether this word denotes dwelling (Koster), or seat (Sept., Vulg., Hengst., Schegg) as 1 Sam. xx. 18, 25, or session (Syriac, Arab PSALM T. 61 For derech is a figurative designation of manner of acting, conduct. We cannot see why 'amad, witli 2, should not retain the meaning of stand fast, persevere in, the more since, according to Hupfeld, we need not infer with De Wette from the fundamental meaning of NDn, " slip, fall," that of '* evil from weakness or ignorance ;" but rather are brought to that of " sinning habitually." Moreover the description of the scorner in the proverbs of Solomon (appropriately explained by Hupfeld) reaches the climax of wicked- ness. In the pictorial description, however, we are not to take every expression as dogmatic. The translation of |*7 by pestilence, which ex- pression Schegg applies to the influence of the devil, has no support in the language. Neither is the fundamental meaning that of turning (Pau- lus), but partly of lisping and stammering, partly of laughing and mocking. [Hupfeld : " This is not a scorner of religion in our sense, nor one who says there is no God, because the religion of the Old Testament was not theory, but essen- tially disposition, practice. He is one who is fri- volous, disregarding the Almighty, making sport of all things, of the worst class of the wicked." Barnes: "We have here a beautiful double gra- dation or climax, in the nouns and verbs of this verse, indicating successive stages of character ; walking, standing, sitting; irreligious men in general, those who disregard known duty and violate human obligation, and tffose who openly mock at virtue and scoff at the claims of reli- gion." Hengstenberg says that " scorners of re- ligion are as old as the fall. Is. v. 19 ; Jer. xviii. 15." Ewald: '* He who meditates evil is already a J^i^n, oue driven by passion, he who does the advised evil is NCOn, a sinner, he who is already so accustomed to suppress a good con- science that he scorns and perverts good in so- ciety, is yi, a scorner." — C. A. B.] Ver. 2. On the contrary. — DN ''3, literally, "but if," after negative sentences introduce the contrast with emphasis (Ewald, §354 a). With Josh. i. 8 in view, which is anticipated, Deut. vi. 6 sq.; xi. 18; xvii. 19, we cannot doubt that the thorah (literally instruction) does not mean here the reve- lation in general (Michaelis, Stier) but the writ- ten law of Moses [De Wette, Hupfeld, Hengst., et al.l (Ps. xl. 7, the volume of the book). The repetition of this word in the second member of the verse is not tautological, so that we could be induced to regard th6dah=pr&iae (Paulus), and not the thdrah, as the subject of the meditation. The remarks of Geier : ^^Repetitur denuo nomen legis ceu rei adeo carx ac pretiosse cufus vel solo no- mine intime delectantur pii,'* certainly misses the sense. Hagah might, in itself, be a poetical desig- nation of discourse, Ps. xxxv. 28, especially as the etymology leads back to the idea of murmuring, and has formed the meaning of thinking, medi- tating, only from the point of view of discourse within the soul. But the latter signification is set aside, not so much by its connection with 2 as by the phrase day and night ; for there is no reason to understand the phrase as figurative of happy and unhappy times. But it does not mean a brooding over the letter in the sense of Juda- ism, nor any other kind of theoretical contempla- tion, as is shown partly by the mention of de- light (literally inclination), partly from the con- text which is throughout practical (Clauss against De Wette). [Delitzsch beautifully : " The quiet soliloquy of investigation and meditation." — C. A. B.] [Day and night. — Hupfeld regards it as the usual formula for continual, perpetual, as in all languages, Pss. xxxii. 4; xlii. 8. — C. A. B.] The expression "night" has a special ap- propriateness here, in that among the Jews the night was from 6 o'clock in the evening till 6 o'clock in the morning. Ver. 8. And so he is like a tree planted by brooks of water. — The perfect with vav consecutive shows that we have here not the reason of the beatitude, but a further ex- pansion of it by a statement of the consequences of the conduct of the pious, just described. The etymology of "'J/S (Alex. 6i'e^oSol) does not compel us (Hupfeld) to think of canals (De Wette). [Hupfeld : J^3 = cleave, divide. The usual name of brooks in Hebrew, as in Arabic and .^thiopic, for streams. Riehm : " Because brooks and streams cleave and divide the sur- face of the earth."— C. A. B.] The double plu'- ral refers partly to the abundance of water, which is very important in the Orient; partly to the rich distribution of brooks for the fructifica- tion of every tree of that kind.* Luther re- minds us of the ever green date palms in the Jordan valley at Jericho, Sir. xxiv. 18 ; Deut. xxxiv. 8.f [Delitzsch: " In the relative clause the emphasis is not entirely upon "ir\J^3 (Calvin) but V^i) is the first and ir^^3 the second em- phatic word. The fruit expected, it affords, and indeed at the proper time, without ever in the course of the seasons disappointing the hopes." " The fresh foliage is a figure of faith, which changes the water of life of the divine word into sap and strength, and the fruit is the figure of works which gradually ripen and spread their blessings around." — C. A. B.] vD cannot be nominative, for the intransitive meaning of the following verb (Sept., Vulg., Va- tabl., Rosenm.). rests only upon the doubtful * I Barnes supposes that there is an allusion to the Oriental methnd of making artificial rivulets to irrigate their land. He refers to the practice in Egypt and in the gardens of Dar mascus. This is, however, a great mistake The Psalmist alludes to those brooks or streams which, having their source in some perennial fountain, flovi' through the wadiea and val- leys, fertilizing the land. Wherever these brooks are found, as at Engedi and in the wady Urtas, their banks are crowded with a rich luxuriance of plan's and trees. These were the fa- vorite streams in the time of Solomon, and the Psalmist proba- bl V had them in mind, vid. Robinson Bib. Researches, J., 477, 605. Ps xlvi. 4; Ixv. 9; Song of Sol. i. 14; iv. 12-16, e<c. It is true these brooks were diverted into many channels in or- der that their blessing mitrht be more widely diffused, as U the case with the Abana at the present day. Its waters are divided by art into a hundred water courses, using every drop of water to fertilize a hundred villagei But this is a deri- vative idea, and was not the ('palmist's ideal, which was the living brooks from the perennial fountain — an allusion to the garden of Eden with th- river of life and the tree of life, fre- quently alluded to in the Fsalms vid., Ps. xxxvi. 8 sq.; xlvi. 4, eic.—G. A. B.] f [The fertility of the plain of Jericho is caused by the largo fountains of Es Sult3,n ami Dtik, with the streams they pour forth over the land, vid. &ob. Bib. Researches, I., 656.— C. A. B.J 52 THE FIRST BOOK OF PSALMS. pointing of Judges xviii. 5. The subject of the sentence is either in the causative significa- tion Jehovah, or since this is too distant, and the transitive signification is the usual one, the pi- ous. Some suppose that tree is the subject be- cause TW}J and vh^S are used with it, Is. v. 4 ; xxxvii. 31; Ezech. xvii. 9, 10; but such a repe- tition would be feeble and cold [Hupfeld]. Str. II. Ver. 4. Not 'so. — These words are repeated at the end of the first member of ver. 4 by Sept., Vulg., and Syr. The following figure describes not only the destiny, but, at the same time, the condition of the wicked contrasted with the figure of the righteous, which likewise embraces both points. If this be overlooked, we mistake the close connection with ver. 5. [Hupfeld, '^lJ=drive, or chase away. In the East the threshing-floors are in the open air, upon heights (Is. xvii. 13), on which the winds more readily blow the chaff away. (De Wette and Barnes, in loco; also Robinson Bib. Researches, I. 550, II. 83; Smith Bib. Diet. 'Agriculture.') "Hence it is the usual figure of the rapid and traceless destruction of the enemiesof Godand the ungodly. Ps. xxxv. 5; Job xxi. 18; Hos. xiii. 3; Matth. iii. 12. There is here also an illus- tration of their inner condition, their emptiness and nullity, in contrast with the good grain, which remains behind and abides." — C. A. B.] Ver. 5. [Therefore. Hupfeld: "not a conse- quence of the moral condition of the unrighteous, as indicated in the figure of the chaff", but rather a logical consequence from ver. 4. From the general statement of the destiny of the un- righteous follows the special : that they are by Divine judgment severed from the congregation of God."— C. A. B.] Many of the older interpreters suppose that there is in D^p an exclusion of the wicked from the resurrection (Sept. ovk avaaTTjaovrai). But this is against the menning of the word and the context. The judgment is not directly nor even exclusively the Messianic (Chald. and the Jewish exegetes), still less human judgment or judgment in civil cases (Rosenm.), but it is the Divine ■ judgment, ver. 6. For it is made prominent in Jehovah, as well by the participle as the charac- teristic attribute, that He knowe.th the way of the righteous. That this knowing is not only a theoretical knowledge, but a nosse cum affeclu et effectu, is involved in the fact that it is Jehovah of whom this is declared. Therefore it gains the closer meaning of "acknowledge in loving care." Yet this meaning is not to be brought into the vocabulary of the word (Kimchi, et al.). Since now the participle precedes, ver. 6 a merely confirms the consequences threatened before, the sure occurrence of which rests upon the fact that .error and deception are excluded by the idea of Divine judgment. The most of the interpreters push into the text itself that which should only be its consequences as a comforting applicatioa to the pious. Moreover, they often give to way, ver. 6, a different meaning from that of ver. 1, viz. (quite frequently), that of destiny, the way in which they are led. But they thereby sensibly weaken the last member of the verse, with its dreadful closing word, which 1„„ ««iU:n~ r ii the prospect of Abaddon (Prov. xv. 11 ; Job xxvi. 6 ; xxviii. 22). The Codd. and the ancient interpreters of the Vulgate do not read in ver. 5 in concilio, as the later editions corrected according to the Hebrew; but in consilio, according to the reading of the Septuagint, h j3ovX^. The Vulgate follows the Sept, version likewise in ver. 4 b, only that, weakening the proper figure still more, it under- stands 6 x^ovg the dust ; bv eKpircTEi 6 avefiog awb Trpoa^TTov Tfjq yfjg. According to our exegesis the verse does not treat of a sudden, still less of a premature, but rather of an inevitable ruin of the ungodly, bearing the character of just pun- ishment brought on by Divine judgment; and the closing verse contains not only an expression embracing both sides of the fundamental thought, rounding off the Psalm, but it directs its glance to the inevitable and endless destruction of the wicked. [Delitzsch: " This same fearful ^^Ki^ closes Ps. cxii., which begins with "''IIJ'X." — C. A. B.] '"' DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL. 1. For ethical and religious consideration there is only one, yet a decided contrast among men, before which all other differences retire, that is: the contrast between the ungodly and the righteous. Their lot in time and eternity corresponds with their disposition towards God. 2. The ungodly, even, partially and for a while unite with one another, come together in socie- ties, in which they converse about evil things to their heart's desire, plunge ever deeper into sin, and mutually strengthen one another in their wickedness by evil counsels, bad examples, and cunning wiles. Yet only the righteous form a congregation, that is: a people of God, organized according to Divine order, based on Divine in- stitutions, governed according to the word of God. 3. As long as the congregation of God remains in this world it U opposed not only by external bands of the wicked, but it has sinners in its own midst, partly because its true and living members are not yet perfect and sinless saints, partly be- cause there are false brethren, hypocrites, apos- tate and wicked men mingled with the congre- gation in its external appearance, as it presents itself in moral and human forms under the in- fluence of its relations to this world, 4. On this account the external society, con- nections, and points of contact are more extensive than the internal membership relntions and in- fluences. Yet this doe.s not cause a perplexity of conscience, or a suppression of the righteous, or an equality in the lots of the evil and the good. But there are characteristics which mark the ungodly and the righteous, as well as a Divine saving and sifting judgment, and a reward cor- responding with the moral and religious conduct of men. 5. The marks of the righteous are negatively, principally, their turning aroay from the counsels, the walk, and the companionship of the wicked- positively, their/oy in the revealed word and will of God and their occ?z;,«^ion in meditating upon the testimony of the Lord given as the mt Lrf PSALM I. 63 regard to the changes of the hours. Contrasted with this are the counsels of the wicked, wherein they disclose the thoughts of their heart, as their walk is opposed to the manner of life ordained by the law of the holy God, and their assembly is the opposite of the assembly for the worship of God. They are to be earnestly avoided ; for it is much easier and more frequent for men, when in the circle of the scorner, to be ruled by the prevailing tone of the company, and even to be carried away with it, than to withstand it, and witness against it, and confess the Lord as those who love His word and His way. 6. The ungodly are not always, and especially not immediately at the beginning, in the lowest grade of wickedness, in which the scorner is, who cannot be taught or improved, but in the over- flow of haughty presumption (Prov. xxi. 24 ; comp. i. 22; ix. 7, 8; xiii. 1; xv. 12, etc.) hates correction, and scorns discipline, and replies with scoflf and persecution, and in the intoxication of boasting, treats everything except himself with petulance, and especially makes sport and scorn of holy things. But the gradations of evil pass ever into one another, and often tread closely upon one another. Even the first steps are al- ready in opposition to the will of God, and evil thoughts are no less worthy of condemnation and dangerous than evil deeds. Those only can be called happy who do not associate in any way with the ungodly, or their practices, devices, or eiforts. 7. Pieit/ gives the righteous the power to with- draw from the society of the wicked, and to with- stand their temptations. It nourishes him in the marrow of his life, and strengthens him by the supply of heavenly nourishment; whilst by his absorption in the holy law of God, it sinks the roots of his life into the revealed ground of salvation, and by his delight in the instruction of the Lord, affords the constant supply of the streams of grace, which make the man who be- longs to God to grow and mature in fruits of righteousness. 8. Consequently man is righteous, not by birth, or nature, or through his own power, skill, or activity, but by the Divine agency, through the means of grace which Divine mercy has estab- lished for us ; as a tree planted by an abundant and flowing brook, if he, like the tree, take up into his own life from the means afforded him by God, that which is necessary to his life and growth. Then he has the experience described in 1 Tim. iv. 8, of the blessings of righteousness. 9. Although the ungodly are in similar cir- cumstances with the righteous, yet they derive no profit from this favorable circumstance. They are spiritually dead and withered. That which has matured in them has faded prematurely ; for they have not appropriated to themselves the nourishment of life, and they have not formed in themselves the faculty for this appropriation. Without root and without sap they have not at- tained any vigor, nor brought forth any fruit, (Matth. xxi. 19). Thus they have ripened only for distraction ; unsubstantial and worthless as chaff; the sport of the wind, until scattered by the storm they go to destruction, and leave no trace behind but the way on which they are vhirled away to a ruin whose misery is in- conceivable ; for the way proves itself a " lost way." 10. This sad condition of the ungodly, as well as their terrible fate, may be for some time con- cealed from themselves and others, but both will be disclosed by the divine judgment, which has its foundations in the ever ruling righteousness of the Almighty, its execution in the judgment of the world; yet its operation already appears in history, judging and sifting in theocratic acts, yea, according to the threatening (Lev. xx. 2) with respect to certain kinds of wickedness, al- ready vindicates itself in bitter earnest in the re- gular administration of justice. " If the Scrip- tures speak of the ungodly, then see to it that you do not refer it to the Jews, or the Heathen, or any other people, but tremble yourselves at this word, for it concerns you and means you." (Luther). 11. There is here a strong encouragement on the one side to turn away from all kinds of ini- quity, and on the other to continue in righteous- ness by a conscientious use of the means of grace in the possession of the congregation. For God desires a pure and holy congregation (Lev. xi. 44 ; Eph. vi. 27), and He knows the way of the righteous. There is no reference here to the well- known heathen maxim: that it must fare well with the good, and ill with the wicked; but the emphasis is upon this fact that Jehovah, the God of historical revelation, who has ordained and called His people to be a righteous congregation, is also the experienced Guardian of the purity of this congregation, and the infallible Judge and Rewarder. There is a striking parallel in the New Testament, 2 Tim, ii. 19. Now, since no one except Jesus Christ is perfectly righteous', the most of the ancient interpreters have by di- rect Messianic interpretation, referred the first strophe to Him, as the ever green tree of life; and since no one is justified by fulfilling the law in his own strength but by faith in Jesus Christ, many, especially of the Evangelical interpreters (Calov. Bib. lllust.) have referred to the close connection between the first Psalm, the summa legis, with the second Psalm, the summa evangelii. HOMILBTICAL AND PRACTICAL, Either blessed or lost — so God's word declares, so God's judgment warns. — The pious and the wicked are together in the world ; but their ways are entirely different from beginning to end. — Man's lot is not determined by chance, but by righteous and infallible judgment. — It is not enough to avoid this or that single sin, we must walk in the way of life. — The Divine law shows the way in which the pious walk, and keeps God Himself in view as knowing that way. — He who would remain in the congregation of the righteous must avoid the society of the wicked, whilst he must use diligently the means of grace entrusted to the congregation of God. All things finally redound to the salvation of the righteous and the destruction of the wicked. He who is planted where the waters of life flow, should appropri- ate them in order that he may grow as a tree of life, and bring forth fruit in his season. — The lot of the pious is as delightful as that of the wicked is terrible. — Tell me the way in which you walk 64 THE FIRST BOOK OF PSALMS. and the company you keep, and I will declare to you the end which you will attain. — The things in which you delight will either make you blessed or destroy you. — Divine judgment comes certainly, strikes surely, judges righteously, and decides our everlasting weal or woe. — He who diligently seeks communion with God, will ear- nestly avoid intercourse with the ungodly. — How shall we distinguish between the righteous and the wicked ? The one keeps God's law with de- light, the other transgresses it with contempt: the one associates with scorners, the other re- mains in the congregation ; the one prospers with God's assistance, the other perishes by God's judgment. — True fear of God receives the no- blest praise, the best blessing. Stakke: a Christian is not only to avoid the commission of sin, but as far as possible is to avoid temptation. — Sin grows constantly : At first we pass it by, then we stand still, then we sit with scorners. Blessed are those who shun the beginning (Sir. xxi. 2; Job iv. 6). — It is true, believers have their greatest pleasure in the Gospel, yet the law is likewise agreeable to them in Christ, for they are freed from its curse, and it is their joy by it to know God's will, and to fulfil it with the power given unto them. — Among other characteristics of a state of grace is this: that we have a heartfelt desire for the word of God, and indeed that we are no more tired of it than a sound body is of its daily bread. As with a palm tree, all that is in it is profitable, leaves, wood, and fruit, so also with the Chris- tian, all that he does is to redound to the honor of the Divine name, and the benefit of his neigh- bors.— It is as foolish to rely upon the ungodly as to fear them — they are like chaff. — Choose in time, and prudently, the society in which you wish to remain forever. — LuK. Osiander : To err and fall is human, but to continue in error and sin is the work of the devil. — One thing is necessary ; to hear and learn the word of God (Luke X. 42; Rom. i. 16; 2 Tim. iii. 16).— Sel- NEKKEB : Piety and the fear of God mean : (1) to avoid false doctrine and a scandalous life; (2) to desire the law of the Lord; (3) to freely and openly confess and speak of it. — No one can know the nature and the will of God without the Di- vine word. — Where there is no fear of God nor truth, talent and intellect are mere poison. — We must, as the fig and palm trees, show the fruit before the leaves. — Four promises are given to those who desire and love the word of God: 1) The grace of God ; 2) fruitfulness and usefulness in their calling; 3) a sure and constant employ- ment; 4) blessing and success. — Geier: We all naturally seek happiness; but only those attain it, who seek it in the revealed word of God. All depends upon the way we choose (Matth. vii. 13). — Renschel: Avoid evil and keep God's word, then you will be happy in this world and the next. — Frisch: Thou standest between two ways which lead to everlasting weal or woe. Open your eyes and choose the best. — The Psalm be- gins with blessing and glory, but it ends with woe, in order that where the hope of blessedness is not strong enough to encourage us to the ser- vice of God and pieiy, the fear of the unhappi- ness and misery to bo endured may deter us from wickedness. — Ribgeb : The fear of God teaches the righteous to avoid evil, whether quiet as a counsel, or common as a way, or fixed as a seat. — Without attachment to the good the bate of wickedness is not constant. — What is there in an ungodly man ? A counsel and trust in his de- ceit ; a way and a defiance of the crowd which travel in it; a seat from which he will not be driven. But what will become of him ? Be- cause he has no weight of truth from the Divine word in himself, he will be driven away as chaff. Since he has made so light of it in his mockery, he will be obliged to experience how incapable he is of standing in the judgment. Since he has ever sought only the society of sinners he will not then remain in the congregation of the right- eous when he most desires to retain a place with them. So long as they are in the way many may think that they are as good as those who are called righteous, who likewise have their faults ; but the issue will be different from what they expect — Otto VON Gerlach: The ungodly main- tain their position by chance because it is calm, and outward circumstances are favorable to them ; but since they have no vital power, no support in God, the first misfortune drives them away. — Tholuck : He who has nothing sure in heaven can have nothing fiirm on earth. — Taube: He who has pleasure in God's word, exercises himself therein without ceasing. [Matt. Henry: The ungodly are forward to give their advice against religion ; and it is managed so artfully that we have reasons to bless ourselves from it, and to think ourselves happy if we escape being tainted and ensnared by it. — We must not only set ourselves to meditate upon God's word, morning and evening, at the entrance of the day and the night, but these thoughts should be in- terwoven with the business and converse of every day, and with the repose and slumbers of every night. — Barnes: If a man desires permanent prosperity and happiness, it is to be found only in the ways of virtue and religion. — Spurgeon : Our worst things are often our best things. As there is a curse wrapped up in the wicked man's mercies, so there is a blessing concealed in the righteous man's crosses, losses, and sorrows. The trials of the saint are a di- vine husbandry, by which he grows and brings forth abundant fruit.— The righteous man ploughs the furrows of earth, and sows a harvest there, which shall never be fully reaped till he enters the enjoyments of eternity ; but as for the wicked he ploughs the sea, and though there may seem to be a shining trail behind his keel, yet the waves pass over it, and the place that knew him shall know him no more forever. The very " way " of the ungodly shall perish. — C. A. B.] PSALM 11. 55 PSALM n. 1 Why do the heathen rage, And the people imagine a vain thing ? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord, and against his Anointed, sayinfff 3 Let us break their bands asunder, And cast away their cords from us. 4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh : The Lord shall have them in derision. 5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, And vex them in his sore displeasure. 6 Yet have I set my King Upon my holy hill of Zion. 7 I will declare the decree : The Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son ; This day have I begotten thee. 8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen /or thine inheritance, And the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron ; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. 10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings : Be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear. And rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish /rorra the way. When his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL. Character and Composition. The 1st Psalm first declares the truly pious servant of Jehovah blessed, without deciding whether the description is only an ideal one, or there is truly such an ever green tree of life; and then draws the counterpart without intimating the possibility or way of salvation of those who walk in wrong wa^^s to destruction. The 2d Psalm, which in isolated expressions reminds us of the 1st Psalm, begins with a description of the world rebellious against God and His government, which passes over into a dramatic tone (vers. 1-3) ; describes over against this the action of Jehovah likewise running out into a dramatic mode of expression (vers. 4-6) ; then, without naming Him, makes the anointed of Jehovah Himself speak so that He explains the decree of Jehovah by a reference to a former ordinance of Jehovah (vers. 7-9) ; and closes with an exhortation to the rebellious to | repent, which passes over into a declaration of ' the blessedness of those who make' known their allegiance to the kingdom of the Messiah (vers. 10-12). The prophetic or direct Messianic explanation can alone explain this Psalm (all ancient Jewish and ancient Christian interpreters, with some from all periods) ; neither the typical (Hofmann), nor the historical (the later Jewish and many recent interpreters), nor the poetical (Hupf., as a general glorification of the theocratic kingdom), nor indeed the explanation to be found in the transition from the typical to the prophetic (Kurtz) can suffice. This the explanation which follows will show. [Perowne : "He begins to speak of an earthly king and his wars with the nations of the earth, but his words are too great to have all their meaning exhausted in David, Solomon, or Ahaz, or any other Jewish monarch. Or, ere he is aware, the local and the temporal are swallowed up in the universal and eternal. The king who sits on David's throne has become glorified and transfigured in the light of the pro- mise. The picture is half ideal, half real. It 66 THE FIRST BOOK OF PSALMS. concerns itself with the present, but that only so far as it is typical of greater things to come. The true king who, to the prophet's mind, is to fulfil all his largest hopes, has taken the place of the visible and earthly king." — C. A. B.] The author is unknown. Most interpreters, indeed, from different stand-points, think of David, whilst they grant that Acts iv, 25 is not decisive.* They differ likewise widely from one another in their estimate of the his- torical situation (comp. De Wette). [Perowne refers it to the events 2 Sam. x. The con- federacy of Syrians, Ammonites, and others who had formerly been subdued (2 Sam. viii. 3, 12), and who now make a last effort for independence. — C. A. B.] Rosenm. (I. Edit, only), Paul. Ewald, Bleek, think of Solomon.f Maurer thinks of Hezekiah with reference to 2 Chron. xxviii, 18; Hitzig of the Maccabean prince, Alex. Jannaeus ; Delitzsch thinks of the period of the prophecy of Immanuel, Is. vii. — xii., perhaps the prophet Isaiah himself, partly because of the similarity of circumstances, partly on account of the similarity of subject and even modes of expression. Str. I. Ver. 1. Why. — The question thrown up by the Psalmist, which already begins to be solved in ver. 1 6 as the change of position and the mood of the verb show, is only a rhetorical one, a question of displeasure, of astonishment, and of derision^wherefore then? why then? [De Wette: "The poet transports himself at once into his situation and feelings. He looks upon the undertakings of the rebels with indig- nation and contempt, and breaks forth in the exclamation. Why ?=:to what end?" — C. A. B.] Rage. — The Hebrew verb does not denote actual rebellion, but that intimation of the speedy outbreak of rebellion which is given by crowds surging in gloomy and confused resent- ments, murmurs and alarms. [Imagine. — In old English this word had the meaning of scheme, devise, plot, vid. Woecester's Diet. This meaning has now passed out of use. It is better, therefore, to substitute deoise, with the meaning of meditating evil. This is the same word as is used Ps. i. 2 b. De Wette: "of wicked, Prov. xxiv. 2, here of rebellious undertakings;" Ilupf : "of wicked and deceitful devices," Ps. xxxviii. 12; Is. lix. 8, 13. — Vain thing. — p'"), "here substantive, a foolish and vain de- vice— what is proved to be idle by the result." — C. A. B.] * [Delitzsch: "Because in the New Testament David's Psalm and Psalm are corresponding terms." This is gene- rally admitted by German commentators, though it is not generally allowed by English and American writers, such at Wordsworth, Barnes, Alexander, etc. Delitzsch is probably correct in his statement. — C. A, B.] f [Ewald: "In this Psalm we hear the voice of a king who, a short time before, was solemnly anointed in Zion. The tribuUry nations are rebelliom and threaten to regain their freedom. The young king stands over against them, self-possessed, conscious of his union with J<?hovah aa His sou and representative, inspirited by the prophetic word at his anointiug, and strong in the power of Jehovah. This young king was Solomon — this Psalm his own composition like those mentioned 1 Kings iv. 32." It is more than likely that the tributary nations plotted together, hoping to throw off the yoke of the young king, it is not necessary to suppose an actiml rebellion. The Psalmist speaks of rebellious thoughts and designs. I think that this Psalm and the former are Psalms of SolomoD. — C. A. B.] Ver. 2. The idea of sitting together passes over into that of deliberation, here that of con- spiring. This is described by the perfect as an accomplished fact, as ver. 1 a, and as preceding the hostile setting themselves, which in the im- perf. appears aa enduring and still continuing, as ver. 1 b, and as finishing the description in ver. 1 a. Ver. 3. The rebels are immediately introduced speaking, and they speak in figurative language, taken from refractory bulls, which express their carnal love of liberty and their unruliness.* Str. II. Ver. 4. The ancient translations ex- press all the imperfects in the antistrophe ver. 4 sq. by the future, [so A. V.]; Ewald, Delitzsch, et al., at least those in ver. 6 [this is better — C. A. B.] ; but, according to HiTpfeld, they are all to be regarded as present, though subsequent to one another. Laughing is often an expression of the feeling of security and of the conscious- ness of sujperiority in contrast to fear ; scorn re- jects the presumption of the impotent with de- served contempt, and discloses their weakness : wrath punishes them. [De Wette : "With the rage and exertion of his enemies the poet sets in beautiful contrast the laughing quiet of his God, who can with one word bring these proceedings to naught." Hupfeld: "A beautiful gradation in thought from the quiet laughing to the agitated scorn, and from this to wrath, which breaks out in the following verse in word and act." — C. A. B.] Ver. 5. Jehovah speaks here with real words, not in thunder (Herder), although the words whiz and roll along like thunder and lightning [in the style] ; and 7713, according to Hupfeld, is frequently used for terror, which confuses, and especially that which is caused by God, and drives into mad flight and leads to destruction. Ver. 6. [Yet have I.— De Wette: "1 often makes a contrast — here it is with the riotous proceedings of the kings. The pronoun / is em- phatic."— C. A. B.] Bottcher has shown {Aehrenlese, p. 4) that we must not translate: anointed, but set (according to the Sept. and Vulg,). Some translate "But I have been con- stituted king by him."— [My King. — Hupf.: "My king so far as he is appointed by God as king over His realm, comp. 1 Sam. xvi. 1, and by virtue of the theocratic idea, His representative." — C. A. B.] Zion was not the anointing place either for David (1 Sam. xvi. 13; 2 Sam. ii. 4), or for Solomon (1 Kings i. 39), or for Christ (Zech. ix. 9), but the seat of government of the Anointed (Ps. ex. 2; 2 Sam. v. 9), The assertion that Zion in the Old Testament constantly is used as the equivalent of Jerusalem, and that it is the name of a special height is disproved by 2 Sam. V. 7, 9 ; 1 Kings viii. 1 ; Hupfeld, however, as- serts that according to prophetical and poetical usage it indicates synecdochically the entire holy mountain city as the seat of God, and naturally re- j ects the translation of J. H. Michaelis and Hofmann |r;f 7J;; *al zion, over its citizens, the people of God; * [Wordsworth: "At Christ's passion the heathen world represented by the imperial power of Rome, c )mbined with the rulers and people of Israel against God and His Messiah ' We will not have this man to reign over us ' was their lan- guage, Luke xix. 14—' We have no king but Cresar ' Joim PSALM II. 57 BO likewise the translation, mountain of my so- vereignty (Herder, Rosenm., efai.). [Delitzsch: "Zion ia the hill of the city of David (2 Sam. v. 7, 9; 1 Kings viii. 1) including Moriah. That mountain of holiness, holy mountain, which is the place of the Divine presence, and therefore towers above all the heights of the earth, is assigned to him as the seat of his throne." — C. A. B.] Str. III. Ver. 7. Declare. — In this strophe it is not the poet which speaks, but the anointed of Jehovah. This is not David nor any other historical king of Israel, moreover not the per- sonified theocratic kingdom, but the Messianic king; not in bodily reality, it is true, nor speak- ing magically from the Psalm, but appearing in the Psalm dramatically as a person.* This does not mean, by any means, as a poetical figure. For the person of the Messiah, as promised by God, and therefore surely coming, existed iti the faith of the Psalmist not less than in the faith of the prophets and the church, although, in lyri- cal parts of Scripture the expressions of faith concerning him appear in different forms from those in the historical or didactic, and the pro- phetical writings in a narrower sense. The Mes- sianic king in this place appeals for the expla- nation of ver. 6, not only to a feigned oracle (De Wette) but to a pn, an ordinance (whether regu- lation or arrangement). There is also in its meaning a reference to an express, inviolable, and peculiar declaration of Jehovah of a histori- cal kind, such as that which is found for the re- lation in question, in 2 Sam. vii. 14 sq., alone. This promise of God, given to David through Na- than before the birth of Solomon (2 Sam. xii. 24), is the historical root of the biblical prophecies of the seed of David, who likewise stands in the relation of sonship to Jehovah. This expression does not denote the divine origin of royalty, or a management of the government according to the will of Jehovah (De Wette), but, first of all, a relation of love to Jehovah, and especially with reference to care and training, which however, at the same time, includes a reference to faithfulness, so much the more as the covenant of God with Israel is regarded as a marriage co- venant (Hengst,, Hupf.) In this last turn of thought there is a thread of meaning, which has been for the most part neglected; yet which alone can lead us to a correct undei'standing of the passage, viz. : If Israel stands partly in a re- lation of sonship to Jehovah, the God of histori- cal revelation, partly in a marriage covenant with Him as the only living, true, and faithful God of the covenant, and indeed the latter, in the sense of Monogamy, over which God watches with jealousy; then the following consequences ensue, viz.: (1) That every attempt to make a parallel with the sons of Elohim (whether angels or princes, Ps. Ixxxii. 6) and with the children of Zeus is entirely unsuitable, and entangles the entire conception. (2) That the use of the word 1 '^ (which seldom means to beget, but gene- * [Delitzach : " The Anointed Himself now takes the word, and speaks out what He is, and what He can do in virtue of the Divine decree. There is no word of transition, no for- mula of introduction to indicate the leap of the Psalmist from the word of Jehovah to the word of His Christ ; the poet is a Beer; his Psalm is a mirror of that which is seen, an echo of that which is heard."— C. A. B.] rally to bear) is not to be regarded as merely a rhetorical variation of the idea of sonship, but gives rise to this thought; that in a determined case some one has been placed in this relation by God Himself, and indeed in the midst of the his- tory of revelation, in which sense Israel also is called i\xQ first-born son of Jehovah (Ex. iv. 22). (3.) That in such a case to-day has not only a mere poetical, or indeed a metaphysical, but a historical meaning. The meaning is not of an eternal, or of a temporal, or spiritual begetting of a person, a setting him in existence; so also not as is frequently supposed of the establish- ment of an Israelitish king in the government, which was disputed by mighty opponents. In connection with this supposition an unknown writer in Paulus, Memorab. III., regards the Psalm as a coronation address composed by Na- than when Solomon ascended the throne. It is certainly a king of Israel, an anointed of Jehovah, who speaks, but this happens partly af- ter his establishment on Zion by Jehovah, and partly as a demonstration, not indeed of his theo- cratic title (for this he had as the one appointed by Jehovah), but of his personal capacity for the government in question, which was to overcome, and embrace the world. Moreover, a general call to the position of sonship to Jehovah would not have been suflScient, because such a call is also ascribed in general to pious Israelites, Dent, xiv. 1 ; Ps. Ixxiii. 15; Prov. Sol. xiv. 26. There- fore in this place he appeals to a special ordina- tion, and indeed so that he refers to an appoint- ment of Jehovah with reference to this very thing, as a word spoken to him as a personal being who already was in existence; that is, the speaker wishes to make known : (1) That he, and no one else, is the one to whom this appointment applies; (2) that he has not been made the son by it for the first time, but declared to be the son ; (3) that this declaration was in time and not in eternity, and has the meaning of a histo^ rical recognition. At the same time the form of the declaration shows it to be an explanation, and indeed not only of the previous oracle in ver. 6 (Herder, Hupf., etal.), but also of the appoint- ment of Jehovah mentioned. There can be no doubt but that 13D has this meaning of "more exact account or explanation," Ps. 1. 16. Even this shows this declaration to be an advance in the declarations of Revelation. But the same is also shown, in fact. For a word of Jehovah of this kind is found only, Ps. Ixxxix. 27 sq., mentioned with reference to David, and 2 Sara, vii. 14 with reference to David's son. But in the passage Ps. Ixxxix. 27, it is likewise not David who speaks, but this passage and the prophecy, 2 Sam. vii. 14, indeed first after his death, were rather referred to him and his seed, and interpre- ted as Messianic, so that a remarkable agreement is evident with the passage in which we are now engaged. Both Psalmists already treat that historical word of God as Messianic, and find the right to this conception in the fact that the pro- phecy of Nathan treats of the government of the world with invincible power and of eternal du- ration. This declaration prevents the necessary consideration of the immediate reference of the oracle to Solomon, and in connection with other prophetical statements respecting the seed of 58 THE FIRST BOOK OF PSALMS. David, especially after the death of David and Solomon, gives to his Divine sonship a narrower, a specific, namely a, /!/esaiam'c signification. This also comes forih, in the Psalm before us, not merely typically, but directly. For David can- not be the speaker introduced by the Psalmist, since the ordination of Jehovah, to which the sovereign who claims the name Son of God ap- peals, is referred to the son of David and we cannot think of Solomon, because the circum- stances alluded to in the Psalm do not at all suit his government, which is expressly mentioned as peaceful (1 Kings v. 4, 6, 18). If, then, we are compelled to go beyond this king, there is no further support for the typical idea in any one of the succeeding rulers, and the historical ex- planation is satisfied only when it finds the ful- filment of the declaration of this Psalm in Jesus, the historical Messiah, that is to say, treats it as directly Messianic, as is frequently the case in the New Testament. Comp. the doctrinal and ethi- cal thoughts which follow, and my exposition of £[eb. i. 5. [Alexander: " These words are cited in Acts xiii. 34, and Hebrews i. 6, to prove the solemn recognition of Christ's sonship, and His consequent authority by God Himself. This re- cognition was repeated, and as it were, realized at our Saviour's baptism and transfiguration, where a voice from heaven said (Matth. iii, 17; xvii. 6) : * This is My beloved son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him.' " — C. A. B.] Ver. 8. Ask of me and I vrill give thee. — [Perowne: "A poetical figure, by which is re- presented God's willingness to give to His an- ointed the kingdoms of this world. The Father's love will withhold nothing from the son." God will have His own son. His beloved, ask of Him ; He delights in giving, but He likewise delights in being asked, and exhorts to the asking with promises of bestowing. As with all His chil- dren, so with the Messiah above all. In this con- nection it is well to recall Jesus' habit of prayer to the Father. This verse asserts the share of the Gentiles in the blessings of the Messiah's rule, yet not as heathen, but as submissive to the Messianic kingdom. This is the constant idea of the Psalmist and the Prophets. — C. A. B.] Ver. 9. Break. — According to the Sept., with other vowel points, "to rule" [^Troi/Liaiveiv'] with reference to Micah vii. 14. The Messiah is thus represented also. Rev. xii. 5 ; xix. 15. This al- ready shatters the objections of De Wette and Hupfeld to the Messianic interpretation. This form, moreover, presupposes the prophecy. Num. xxiv.- 17, and has its internal reasons in the fact that the Messiah is at once Judge and Saviour, vid. Doct. and Ethical. [Potter's vessel. — De Wette: "With little trouble, and to entire de- struction, Jer, xix. 11 ; Is. xxx. 14." — C. A. B.] [Str.IY. Ver. 10. Delitzsch : " The Psalmist closes with an application of that which he has seen and heard, to the great ones of the earth. The warning is directed not to those who have been seen in rebellious commotion, but to kings in general, with a glance at that which he has seen and understood in prophecy." — Judges of the earth. — Delitzsch: "Not those who judge the earth, but those judges and regents who be- long to the earth in its length and breadth." Ver. 11. This verse stands in beautiful con- trast to ver. 3, as it is based upon what has been seen in prophecy, vers. 8 and 9. — Serve the Lord vrith fear.— This must be taken in a re- ligious sense, as is usually the case, but the po- litical sense is likewise involved, as we see from vers. 8 and 9. The religious and the political submission are combined in the Messianic king- dom {vid. Riehm and Perowne). — Rejoice Twith trembling. — Delitzsch: "Their rejoicing lest it should turn into security and pride, is to be with trembling, trembling with reverence and self-discipline, for God is a consuming fire, Heb. xii. 28."— C. A. B.] Ver. 12. Kiss the son. — That is, do homage to him (1 Sam. x, 1 ; comp. 1 Kings xix. 18; Hos. xiii. 2 ; Job xxxi. 27.) The Aramaic 13 for |3 is also found, Prov. xxxi. 2, and the ab- sence of the article suits entirely the Messianic interpretation. The word then stands in the transition to a proper noun. According to the example adduced by Delitzsch, an Arabic inter- preter would explain: kiss a son and what son? All the ancient translations, except the Syriac, have different interpretations, whilst they either take 13 as an adverb = pure, clean (Aquil., Symm., whom Jerome follows: ador ate pure) ; or read 13 (= purity, chastity, modesty) and pl!/J in the sense of lay hold of, embrace. Hence Spd^aa&E naiSdaq (Sept.), apprehendite disciplinam (Vulg., Chald.), lay hold of purity (Ewald, Koster). The Arabic translation of Saadia in- terprets : Prepare yourself with purity, that is, with sincerity, to obey Him. Hupfeld regards the original meaning of the verb as to join, to follow, and translates: "submit yourself sin- cerely and honestly." But since there is no evi- dent use of 13 in this sense, he supposes, with Olsh., a mistake, and would read 13 = submit yourself to Him (join Him); whilst he grants that even this construction is not found else- where. The same objection applies to the trans- lation: Submit yourself to duty, namely, obedi- ence (Hitzig).* The kiss, as a sign of reverence is, in the Ori- ent, for the most part given on the hand, or the clothing of another (Rosenm., Alles and Neuea Morgenland, III., no. 496; IV., no. 789), yet at times even on the mouth, or thrown by a move- ment of the hand, which is regarded as an act of homage. Even with the Messianic interpretation, it is * [Hupfeld : " The language does not allow of the transla- tion of 13 as Son, for tho following reasons, (1) "^3 in this sense is not a Hebrew word, but an Aramaic word, and only occurs in Prov. xxxi. 2, in u passage of very late composition, which has likewise other Chaldaisms, whilst this Psalm is tho pioduct of tho best period of literature, and it is incon- ceiv.tble that poetical license even would excuse such a word. (2) It is without sense apart from Jehovdh, and without the article. (3) The subject of the following clause is Jehovah, as in tho preceding verse, which makes it improbable that a new subject fchould step in between. It is difficult to take "13 in any other way than as an adverb, as Svm and Je- rome." Hupfeld is corr<'ct here, I think ; we must not be misled by the beauty of the idea, kiss tho fon, or a desire for another Messianic allusion. There is sufficient reference to the Messiah in the id strophe, and this allusion would have no significance apart from that. Then again ?3 is used in that strophe for the Messiah. It would seem strancre for th» Psalmist to select an Aramaic form so soon after. 5 A B 1 PSALM II. 59 questionable whether the subject of the follow- ing clause is the son (Henget. ), which is the most obvious, or Jehovah (with Abeu Ezra and most interpreters, with the supposition of a change of subject which is frequent in prophecy and poetry) because this corresponds better with the consciousness of the believing Israelite. But both clauses, with lest and when, contain merely confirmed warnings in the mouth of the Psalm- ist, entirely the same as that which immediately before he has had the Messiah speak; and if there is in the closing clause the word often used of believing refuge in Jehovah, yet this does not decide, in view of the Divine majesty and power ascribed to the Messiah. It would rather seem to be decided by the fact that in ver. 11 already again Jehovah Himself is named as Sovereign, wliom the kings and judges of the earth are to serve. But this very passage favors, in the high- est degree, the Messianic character of the entire Psalm, For the discourse is of the previously heathen princes and leaders of the nations, who are not to be made Jews by compulsion, as it happened for the first time under Alex. Jannaeus, to whom on this account Hitzig brings down this Psalm; but who are exhorted to conversion to Jehovah, ere the crushing judgment of the Mes- siah shall be fulfilled on all those who are not members of the people of God, even the mighti- est. These also declare, with all their expres- sions of joy, still ever that holy awe, and that indelible trembling of the creature before the Almighty and Holy God, which is mentioned likewise in the New Covenant, e. ^,, "working out salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil. ii. 12; Heb, xii. 28). The context itself is against the interpretation of the hypocritical joy at the homage festival, of those who have been over- come by force, and who obey from fear (llgen in Rosenm., and part also Hengst.) [From the way. — Alexander: ".ffy the way.^' Riehm : " In order that you may not pe- rish with regard to the way = go in a way which is destruction for you. "j'lT is an accusative of reference, (Hitzig, of limitation.)" So also Delitzsch, et al.—G. A. B.] The construction of the closing clause being disputed, we cannot gain from it any evidence of the Messiahship of the Anointed, but since this Messiahship is proved elsewhere, the contents of the clause forbid a reference merely to an earthly king, Ps. cxviii. 9 ; cxlv. 3, but not to God's King, whose solemn name of Messiah and Son of God has here its first biblical expression and abiding support. Instead of " lilile " some trans- late with the Sept., "in short," "-soon;" but in hypothetical connections only the first meaning of the Hebrew word can be safely shown. Sachs' translation "as notliing," is too strong. [Hup- feld, 13 ""Din, " not to put their trust in Him, but to seek or take refuge with Him." So Hitzig et al. This meaning is clear in npHD ^ refuge, in the shadow of His wings, Ps. xxxvi. 8 ; Ivii. 2; under His wings, Ps. xci. 4; Ruth ii. 12 ; of a rock, shield, etc., Ps. xviii, 3, 81; cxliv. 2 ; Deut. xxxii. 37, etc. — C. A. B.] With Bugenhagen we say, at the close of this Psalm, " epiphonema dignius ut mediteris guam ut ime tractetur." DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL. 1. When those who are without the kingdom of God oppose it and attack it, even though they assemble themselves in masses, riot against it after the manner of the nations, according to the ways and in the interests of the kingdom of this world, combine under mighty princes and wise leaders, yet their rebellion is not only deplora- ble, but is also miserable, abject, and blameable ; yes, it is from the beginning condemned as with- out reason and without eifect. They consult to- gether, it is true, but nothing comes of it. They would undertake something, but they cannot, and properly they are not allowed to. They are as cowardly as they are boastful. They merely ex- cite one another, and stimulate one another with presumptuous words to wicked and impotent pre- tensions. Furit in unum populus et miseretur om- nium Christus. 2. The enemies of Divine sovereignty on earth are of many minds and split into parties, yet they agree in the wish to limit its extension as far as possible. So far as it is in heaven, they do not trouble themselves about it, but with every ad- vance it makes in the world, they feel that their interests are threatened. Although they are still without its limits they have a presentiment that Divine Sovereignty is in all earnestness an ab- solute Sovereignty embracing the whole world. They feel that by this very fact they are assailed in their natui-al claims, which they call human rights, and in their native tendencies, to cherish which they regard as their most sacred necessity. When it is demanded that they should obey the will of God, and submit to His ordinances, which bind all men without exception, they regard it wiih indignation as a direct attack upon their human rights of sovereignty, and consequently as a personal insult. They little think that the cords thrown out to them from the kingdom of God are holy bands of moral communion, and cords of love to assist them in pious discipline and life. That which is weaving itself about them and their children into a net of grace for their salvation, they regard only as a yoke of compulsion to their unsubdued hearts, and abuse it as a fetter to their freedom, and a restraint to their consciences. It seems to them a point of honor, based on natural rights, and enjoined by circumstances, to tear away and strip off tliose cords which are wound about them, and hold them in this way. " Even to-day we see that all the enemies of Christ find it as burdensome to be compelled to submit to His authority as to un- dergo the greatest shame," (Calvin). 3. The internal contradictions of such reflec- tions upon the world are truly great, but the blindness of those who are entangled therein is equally great. Their pathos is as hollow as their power and their rights; their talk as empty as their counsel ; their efforts as frivolous as their conceit; their ability as vain as their intentions. Thus^they perform a drama whose fearful ear- nestness they are no more able to conceive than the absurdity of the part they play in it, and whose comic side ceases to excite laughter when history discloses it as really tragedy, and reveals to the anxious heart of man, that even the bright 60 THE FIRST BOOK OF PSALMS. glance of the serene eye of God emits the light- nings of wrath, which work ruin and set the world in flames ; and that the word of the scorner will come forth from the mouth of the Almighty in the crushing thunders of judgment. " Thus God decrees, that the ungodly should storm and rage against the pious, excite all their counsels against them. But all this is as the stormy, swollen waves of the sea, which rush along as if they would break down the shore, but before they reach the shore they quiet down again, vanish in themselves, or break up with a little foam upon the shore." Luther. 4. And yet God has made preparations in his- tory against the destruction of the world, and these are embraced in the Messianic institutions of salvation, which were not only typically sym- bolized in the theocratic institutions of the Old Covenant, but were historically prepared and foretold by the prophetic words of Revelation. From these prophecies, even in the darkest times, the severest afflictions, the bright light of consolation streams forth, because these not only point with certainty to the providence of God in history, but also to the indestructible power, the sure and constantly approaching victory of the kingdom of God over all the powers of the world. As these prophecies are consoling to the citizens of the kingdom of God, so are they threatening and calculated to terrify its foes. 5. The Messianic prophecies explain the en- tire history of the world and of salvation, illu- minating it with the light of Divine revelation. These again have their centre of light in the de- clarations respecting the person of the Messiah. The faith in this person, that He will surely come and appear in history, has its living root in the hearts of believers. But this root does not spring from the soil of human longings, or the national spirit of the people of Israel, but it grows under the influence of the Divine Spirit from the soil of special Divine revelations made to Israel, and it develops in testimonies, which may become pro- phecies, as in the circumstances of this Psalm. And these prophecies on the one side strengthen and nourish faith, and on the other find their true development and progress in history. — " Such a hope as this we must firmly maintain, and not deviate from it for any cause whatever," (Luther). 6. On account of this historically growing and developing character of Biblical prophecy, it is possible that its elementary beginnings, which on account of their germinal nature embrace and contain in embryo the forms which afterwards appear separately, were neither clearly under- stood by their contemporaries, nor always ex- plained in the same way by subsequent writers. If, however, the explanations maintain the di- rection indicated by the writing itself, and lay hold of that thought which is prominent, and which alone is authorized, then there is not the least occasion for ambiguity, or of a perplexing manifold sense. But these thoughts, which alone are authorized, have found their expression suc- cessively in the Scriptures themselves, so that we need not seek for any other rule. The fulness of meaning in the biblical expressions Anointed, and Son of God, cannot be derived either simply from etymology of the words, nor directly from the first historical use of these terms ; it can be gained only from a consideration of the use of these terms made by the biblical writers in the time of the fulfilment in the New Testament. If therefore ver. 7 of this Psalm makes the first biblical use of this expression with reference to the Messiah, on the basis of a Divine decree, then we can conceive the right of the Messianic use of this and other verses of this Psalm in the New Testament in various forms. This is the case in express citations, as Acts iv. 25 sq., where Peter and John, with the rest of the Apos- tles, treat as a fulfilment of the words, Ps. ii. 1, 2, the rebellion against Christ, in which the un- believing Jews had shown that they were en- tirely agreed with the princes of the heathen, who not only ruled them but led them; further- more. Acts xiii. 33, where Paul derives from ver. 7 the propriety and reasonableness of the resur- rection of Jesus as the Son of God ; finally Heb. i. 6, where the argument for the super-angelic nature and rank of Jesus as the Messiah is de- rived from the same verse. So also these words are used literally, in the Messianic sense ; thus Heb. V. 5, where the idea is advanced in connec- tion with words from ver. 7, that Jesus Christ was placed in the glory of His high priesthood by God, who had declared Himself his Father long before, and in contrast to His predecessors ; furthermore, Rev. xii. 5; xix. 15, where the ju- dicial activity of the Messiah is described with words from ver. 9. Finally there are parallel facts mentioned, such as the wrath of the Lamb (Rev. vii. 16), the Sovereignty of God and His Messiah over the world (Rev. xi. 16), which might have been suggested by other passages, it is true, but which yet confirm the Messianic cha- racter of the Psalm. If we should reject this Messianic character we would be finally forced to the evasion made by the Arabic translation of Saadia, which translates in ver. 7 the Hebrew ben with friend, because the most obvious mean- ing cannot be understood. 7. It is worthy of special consideration that in this Psalm the generation referred to Jehovah, or rather the birth of the Messiah, is understood as a Divine declaration of the Messiah as Son of Je- hovah, made by a word of revelation upon a histo- rical day ; that likewise the corresponding Di- vine declaration, Ps. Ixxxix. 27, transfers the tide of first-born, which was previously given to the people of God, to the Messiah in His type David; that then John and Paul, in connection with the deeper insight of the New Testament into the idea of the Divine Sonship applied the name of first-born to Jesus, the historical Mes- siah, (Dan. ix. 24, 25 ; Luke ii. 11 ; John i. 49), and indeed partly with reference to His birth from God, before the creation of any creature (Col. i. 15), partly with reference to His relation to the Church brought about by His resurrection from the dead (Col. i. 18; Rom. viii.29; ICor. xv. 20; Acts xxvi. 23; Rev. i. 6). Again, in close connection with this is the fact that Paul, Acts xiii. 33, treats the resurrection of Jesus as the actual fulfilment eifected by God upon a histori- cal day of the declaration of the Messiah as His Son, expressed in the words, Ps. ii. 7 (comp. Rom. i. 4) ; furthermore, that Heb. i. 6 immediately after the use of the Psalm already PSALM II. 61 mentioned, briefly speaks of the exalted Messiah with reference to His second advent^ under the nume of the first-born ; finally that in Rev. xii. 5 the entrance of the Messiah upon His sove- reignty over the world, when snatched away to God and to His throne, is regarded- as a birth from the Church according to the analogy of Is. Ixvi. 7; Micah iv. 4 ; v. 1, 2, Once, when Me- lanchthon was asked by some one, through his servant, why we sing every year, at Christmas, ♦'Born to-day," answered, "Ask your master -whether he does not need the consolation to- day." 8. The kingdom of God is not oniy to acquire a historical form on earth among'xhe people of Israel and in the land of Canaan, but is to be spread abroad among all nations, even to the ends of the earth, yet not in the form of the theo- cracy of the Old Covenant, but in the Messianic form, or the Christocracy. The assurance that the power of the Divine kingdom over all people is conferred upon the Messiah rests upon the will of Jehovah guaranteed by the promise (comp. Ps. Ixxxii. 8) ; but the historical fulfil- ment of this promise is made dependent upon a demand yet to be made by the Messiah, whose time, manner, circumstances and conditions are not mentioned here, compare Luke xxii. 29 ; Kev. xi. 15. 9. The Messiah's power over the kingdom of God is destined to be a Divine government, not only to embrace the world, but also to conquer the world : and it has not only this destiny, but has also sufl&cient means in its own constitution to accomplish both of these purposes. We must distinguish, however, (1) the means of grace, which are offered previously to all the world (Matth. xxiv. 14; xxviii. 19), the use of which conveys a blessing to all those who willingly submit themselves to him (Mark xvi. 16), so that those who take refuge with God and His anointed are not cast down and buried beneath the ruins of a world which is judged by the Lord (Luke xxviii. 30), but they find deliverance; and (2) the powers which infinitely surpass all the pow- ers of this world, and which are greatly to be feared when they unfold in their strength, in the exhibition of wrath (Rom. ii. 5), in the Messianic judgment (John iv. 22). 10. In the intervening time the Divine word addresses itself not only to the lowly and the weak, but very emphatically to' the powerful and those in high positions in the world, who are in especial danger of over-rating themselves and of boasting, and, in consequence of this, of misun- derstanding, neglecting, and transgressing the Liws of the kingdom of God, which lie at the basis of all human order, and therefore they need an earnest and gracious admonition to be mind- ful of their responsibility to the Heavenly King and Judge, and to lead their subordinates in wit- nessing faithful obedience to their Lord and God, who not only has established the office of magis- trate in the world and maintains, protects and blesses the power of the magistrate among men, but also would stand in a personal relation and communion with those who are clothed with this power, in order that the sceptre and sword, mo- ney and property with which they have been in- vested by Him, may be used to the glory of God, the good of the kingdom, and the benefit of men, and that they may work out their own salvation on the one side with fear and trembling, and on the other with sacred joy. Spes sine tremore luxu- riat in prsesumtionem, et timor sine spe degenerat in desperationem (Gregory). HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL. It is as impossible to destroy the kingdom of God on earth as to take heaven by storm. God will not allow Himself to be dethroned. — The so- vereignty of Christ is to believers an easy yoke, to unbelievers an oppressive fetter; therefore, obedience is to the former a sweet pleasure — to the latter an insupportable burden ; but it can- not be shaken off — the sceptre of blessing be- comes a rod of iron. — All persons in authority should assist in the carrying out of God's will on earth, and use their powers to this end ; but it is allotted to the Son of God alone to set up the kingdom of God and carry it on in the world. Rebellion against the Lord and His anointed is shameful as it is presumptuous ; foolish as it is daring ; impotent as it is wicked and audacious. — The higher our position in this world, the, greater our accountability to God. — The Lord proclaims the presence of His grace, as well as His coming to Judgment, and so no one has ex- cuse. God gives time for repentance to the in- dividual as well as to nations ; blessed is he who uses this time of grace and takes refuge with the God of all salvation, who reveals Himself iu History as Saviour and as Judge. Starke : — Where the kingdom of Christ breaks forth with power, the world is excited and re- bellious, but all in vain. — This is a perverse ge- neration which finds the snares of Satan easy and pleasant, but rejects as cumbersome the cords of Jesus' love. — He who would be a true anointed of the Lord cannot and must not oppose the Messiah, but must build up this kingdom. — The Lord and His anointed are so inseparably united that their enemies must combat them both together. — It is pleasurable to be a servant of sin (Rom. vi. 12), and at the same time a servant of perdition (2 Peter ii. 19) ; but to be a servant of God and of Jesus is regarded as too trouble- some for the flesh (Acts xxiv. 25), prejudicial to freedom (John viii. 83), and dishonorable (John ix. 28). — When our Lord in His time had suflB- ciently proved the faith and perceverance of His Church, He deprived His persecutors of their courage, so that those who had previously been the source of fear to every one, feared ana trem- bled themselves. — Christ was, according to His office, a preacher; according to His majesty, a King on Mount Zion, therefore, true man ; a Son begotten to-day, therefore true God ; a wonderful Hero and Lord ! — Christ is a universal King, therefore He has His Church in all parts of the world. — The enemies of Christ suppo.se that His sceptre is still a reed, as in the time of His sufferings; but they will be obliged to expe- rience, some day, to their greatest shame, ihe iron sceptre in His hand. — Generally those who are the highest in dignity acquire self knowledge and humility with difliculty, yet this is indispen- sable to their improvement. — What is more rea- sonable than that those who have received more G2 THE FIRST BOOK OF PSALMS. honor than others should render the most reve- rence to God? (2 Sam. xii. 7 sq.). — Those are the best friends of magistrates who remind them of their duty to the Son of God, in order that they may not be exposed to His wrath. — How great a change of heart there must be, if we are to resolve to serve and truly hold Him for our Lord whom formerly we despised and opposed. — Christ is gracious, so that He willingly allows Himself to be kissed ; but if he is not kissed at all, or with a Judas kiss, He can be as angry as He is gracious. Moller: — God speaks to the ungodly more by His arm than by His mouth. — Selnekker: All will go well with those whose hopes are in Christ, who know Him by faith, accept Him and confess Him. — Dauderstadt: We have only God to serve with fear, not Satan, not the flesh, not the world. — Geier : The flesh always seeks release from restraint, but to its own destruction. — To be truly wise is to know ourselves and our dan- ger at the right time. — Francke : Just as it is the part of man constantly to ask, so also is it the part of our Heavenly Father constantly to give. — Renschel : Although the enemies of Christ rage still, yet He remains King. — He who serves and honors Him will live with Him for- ever.— His kingdom, the Church, will survive when all His enemies perish. — Herberger: The Lord Jesus has many and mighty enemies, but He is greater than they all ; therefore, the best advice is to gain His love and be blessed forevtr by Him. — The enemies of the Christian religion speak their own shame. — The longer the storm is coming, the harder it beats; the longer God withholds His wrath, the more terrible the pun- ishment.— That which has been established by our Heavenly Father, no devil or tyrant will over- throw.— The Church is oppressed, but not sup- pressed.— Beware of God's wrath, for wrath and destruction are close together. — Bengel: In the kingdom of Omnipotence all things must be ar- ranged for the best. — Umbreit: Only those who reject the breath of love, feel the iron of justice. — R. Stibr: The kingdom of the An- ointed Son of God, which is ever invincible to rebels, will be graciously ofi'ered to faith, before it is asserted with judgment. — Guenther: Da- vid beholds the victory of his successor on his eternal throne, and shall we tremble when unbe- lief seeks its booty on Christian thrones — Taube : Christ is the Man of decision for all; in Him is rooted the contrast between the righteous as be- lieving subjects, and the ungodly as unbelieving enemies. — Diburich: When human powers are opposed to the Messiah's kingdom they are like earthen vessels to iron. [Matt. Henry: One would have expected that so great a blessing to this world should have been universally welcomed and embraced, and that every sheaf should immediately have bowed to that of the Messiah, and all the crowns and scep- tres on earth should have been laid at His feet; but it proves quite contrary. Never were the notions of any sect of philosophers, though never 80 absurd, nor the power of any prince or state, though never, so tyrannical, opposed with so much violence as the doctrine and government of Christ. A sign it was from heaven, for the opposition was plainly from hell originally. — Spurgeon: We shall not greatly err in our summary o'f this sublime Psalm if we call it the Psalm of Messiah the Prince ; for it sets forth as in a wondrous vision the tumult of the people against the Lord's Anointed, the determinate pur- pose of God to exalt His own Son, and the ultimate reign of that Son over all His enemies. Let us read it with the eye of faith, beholding as in a glass the final triumph of our Lord Jesus Christ over all His enemies. — It was a custom among great kings to give to favored ones whatever they might ask (Esther v. 6; Matth. xiv. 7), so Jesus hath but to ask and have. — There must ever be a holy fear mixed with the Christian's joy. This is a sacred compound, yielding a sweet smell, and we must see to it that we burn no other upon the altar. Fear without joy is torment; and joy without holy fear would be presumption. — Our faith may be slender as a spider's thread, but if it be real, we are in our measure blessed. The more we trust, the more fully shall we know the blessedness. We may therefore close the Psalm with the prayer of the Apasties: "Lord, increase our Faith." Plumer: It is easy for God to destroy His foes . . . Behold Pharaoh, his wise men, his hosts and his horses, ploughing and plunging, and sinking like lead in the Red Sea, Here is the end of one of the greatest plots ever formed against God's chosen. Of thirty Roman empe- rors, governors of provinces, and others high in oflfice, who distinguished themselves by their zeal and bitterness in persecuting the early Chris- tians, one became speedily deranged, after some atrocious cruelty, one was slain by his own son, one became blind, the eyes of one started out of his head, one was drowned, one was strangled, one died in a miserable captivity, one fell dead in a manner that will not bear recital, one died of so loathsome a disease that several of his phy- sicians were put to death because they could not abide the stench that filled his room; two com- mitted suicide, a third attempted it, but had to call for help to finish the work, five were assas- sinated by their own people or servants, five others died the most miserable and excruciating deaths, several of them having an untold com- plication of diseases, and eight were killed in battle, or after being taken prisoners. Among these was Julian the Apostate. In the days of his prosperity he is said to have pointed his dag- ger to heaven, defying the Son of God, whom he commonly called the Galilean. But when he was wounded in battle he saw that all was over with him, and he gathered up his clotted blood and threw it into the air, exclaiming, "Thou hast conquered, 0 thou Galilean." Voltaire has told us of the agonies of Charles IX. of France, which drove the blood through the pores of the skin of that miserable monarch, after his cruelties and treachery to the Huguenots. — C. A. B.] PSALM III. 63 PSALM IIL A Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom his son. 1 Lord, how are they increased that trouble me I Many are they that rise up against me. 2 Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah. 3 But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me ; My glcJry, and the lifter up of mine head. 4 I cried unto the Lord, with my voice. And he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah. 6 I laid me down and slept ; I awaked ; for the Lord sustained me. 6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people. That have set themselves against me round about. 7 Arise, O Lord ; save me, O my God ; For thou bast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone ; Thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. 8 Salvation belongeth unto the Lord : Thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah. EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL. A Psalm of David when hefUdfrom Absalom his gon. — The title Mizmdr and the use of Selah {vid. Introduction) indicate the use of this Psalm in the service of the temple. It is particularly suited by its tone and subject for a morning Psalm (ver. 5) in times of trouble, especially in the dangers of war.* There is not the least oc- casion, in fact, or in the language, to deviate from the traditional view of the origin of this Psalm as it is expressed in the title. There are reflected in this Psalm the particular features of the story of the trouble of David in his flight from Absalom, especially 2 Sam. xv. 13 ; xvi. 7 sq. ; xvii. 1, 11. [Delitzsch: "The derision of David as one forsaken by God, 2 Sam. xvi. 7; the danger by night, 2 Sam. xvii. 1, the myri- ads of people, 2 Sam. xv. 13, xvii. 11, and the high and honorable position of the Psalmist." — C. A. B,] The expressions, especially of ver. 6, transcend the description of the troubles of a private man of piety. If this fact is recognized against Seb. Schmidt, Olsh., Hupf., the suppo- Bition of an unknown king (De Wette, Sachs) is an unjustifiable criticism of the traditional view ; for nothing speaks against David, and many things for him. The transfer of its time of ori- * [Delitzsch : " The first two Psalms, which are prologues, are suice ded by a morning Psalm, Ps. iii., and an evening Psalm, Ps. iv., as we would naturally expect such Psalms to come firbt in a Psalm book.''— 0. A. B.] gin to the period of the supremacy of Saul, es- pecially the troubles of David after the destruc- tion of Ziklag by the Amalekites, 1 Sam. xxx. 6 (Hitzig) is incompatible v^ith ver. 4 [vid. exege- sis of the verse). It is true there is no apparent reference to Absalom, and many exegetes miss it; but they do not notice that we have here a lyrical effusion of a specific religious character, and this not here the expression of the experi- ence of a sick and anxious father, as 2 Sam. xv 11, but the lamentation and the trust of a chief- tain and sovereign, who is hard pressed, yet cheerful in prayer, and these experiences re- sound in such terse sentences and pithy v^rords, that the reader hears the royal Psalmist sigh, cry, and weep from his inmost soul. [Ewald : " The grandeur, color, and language of David are unmistakable." — C. A. B.] At the same time, the rythmical arrangement of the four strophes (three according to Geier) is so artistic that it may properly be regarded as written down at a later time, and yet we have no reason to suppose that it was a later composition (Rosenm.), or that there was a long time between its conception and its production (Hengsten- berg). Moreover, the origin of this Psalm of prayer does not, most naturally, fall upon the evening (Hengst.) of the first day of the flight, 2 Sam. xvi. 14, (Kimchi), on which David went bare-footed and weeping up the Mount of Olives, and experienced many bitternesses and mortifi- cations, but in the morning hours, after the in- tervening night, in which Ahithophel would have 64 THE FIRST BOOK OF PSALMS. fallen upon him, 2 Sam. xvii. 1, (J. H, Michaelis [Ewald]). The Hollanders sang this Psalm according to their Psalm-book when they marched against the Belgians, Aug. 1st, 1831. Str. I. Ver. 1. [How. — Mak, an expression of lamentation (De Wette), on account of the crowd of enemies (Hupf.) — Increased. — Barnes: "How are they multiplied; or how numerous they are. Perhaps the idea is, that at first they seemed to be comparatively few in number, but had now so multiplied as to endanger his crown and life." — Hupfeld: "That trouble me— in gene- ral of enemies or opponents. — Rise up against me. — Properly not rebels, but adversaries in general, those who stand up against him to op- pose him." — C. A. B,] Ver. 2. [Hupfeld: "His need has become so great and threatening that many doubt his deliverance, and deny that he has any help to expect from God." — C. A B.] — My soul. — This circumlocution for the person is not without significance (most interpreters). It is used in Hebrew not only with reference to the life (Gesen. [Barnes]), but also with reference to the spirit, and will (Hupfeld), and it here expresses the fact that the words spoken partly about David, and partly to him, as well by open enemies (Hiizig), as by friends who have become perplexed, wound his inmost soul fHeng- stenb.), and pass in judgment his inmost charac- ter, and his personal relation to God (Delitzsch). — Help. — According to the context, the refe- rence is to deliverance from danger to his life, which it is pretended "Pavid has no longer to ex- pect from Elohim. The speakers here are not Atheists, who mistake the Divine power (De Wette), but men, who regard the ruin of David as unavoidable, and wish to express the opinion that now even prayer will not help. Herein is ex- pressed their view that God will not, or does not wish to help the afflicted one; and this turn of expression must have stung the soul of David with all the more bitterness, as his heinous sin with Bathsheba had already brought upon him a series of Divine chastisements. But we are not to infer from this, that the speakers would say that there is now no more sal- vation with God for David, or he has been thrust out from the Divine grace (Delitzsch). The termination athah [termination of the He- brew word for help— C. A. B.] is neither inten- sive (Kimchi), nor demonstrative (Gesen.), nor euphonic (Aben.Ezra and the most of the later interpreters), but the accusative of design (Hup- feld [Delitzsch]), which in the Hebrew is about to pass out of use, and is only preserved in frag- ments in certain feminines in fr— in the poets (derived from the view of direction towards an end). Str. II. Ver. 3. [Hengstenberg cites Luther as saying : " The Psalmist here contrasts with the previous clauses three others. He has spoken of many enemies, he opposes them with, the Lord is his shield. Then, as they have set themselves against him to disgrace him before the world, he opposes them with, the Lord sets him in honor. Finally he laments over those who slander and insult him, against whom he boasts that it is the Lora who lifts up his head." — C. A. B.] [Shield. — Vid. Gen. xv. 1, where God is Abra- ham's shield, Deut. xxxiii. 29, where he is Is- rael's shield. It is also a favorite expres- sion of David, Pss. vii. 10 ; xviii. 2 ; xxviii. 7. — For me. — '?i''3. A better rendering is " around me," " about me," " round about mc," so almost all exegetes. Hitzig: "Jehovah stands behind him, and holds His shield before him (Zech. xii. 8; 2 Sam. vi. 16)." Alexander: "Covering the whole body, not merely a part of it, as ordinary shields do." — My glory, — Hengstenberg: "Because David's glory, the exalted digniiy with which he was clothed, had its source in the Lord." Ps. Ixii. 7. — Lifter up of my head. — Hengst.: "Indi- cates that he is delivered from the state of de- pression in which he went about in sadness, without spirit, and with bowed head." De- litzsch, upon this verse as a whole, says: " Hourly he has to fear that he will be fallen upon and ruined, but Jehovah is the shield which covers him. His kingdom has been taken away from him, but Jehovah^ is his glory. With co- vered head, bowed to the ground, he ascended the Mount of Olives, 2 Sam. xv. 30 ; but Jeho- vah is the lifter up of his head whilst He com- forts and helps him." — C- A. B.] Ver. 4. My voice. — Most exegetes suppose that '"^Ip is the accusative of instrument, or ac- cording to Ewald more correctly accusative of closer definition, and indicates that the call was a loud one. Hitzig, on the other hand [Begriff der Kritik, p. 23), Bottcher {Collectanea, p. 116), and Hupfeld, suppose that there is here a poeti- cal use of a double subject, and that the active member appears, first, as the nearer subject in the nominative, and then, the person himself ap- pears again in the verb. It is disputed here whether the imperf. is to be taken in the historical sense as preterite (Hupf., Hitzig, Baur), or as an expression of continued action, Delitzsch, et al. If we separate the imperf. in the latter sense with De Wette from the poet's real hour of affliction, and regard it as a description of the constant state of his soul, so that the perfects in ver 5 must, contrary to usage, be taken in like sense ; then this expla- nation which reduces it, '' to be accustomed," is clearly wrong. But the strict historical expla- nation is likevrise carried too far when Sachs translates the following imperf conversive: "and he has answered." Hitzig puts even ver. 6 in the past. But the poet expresses rather, what he has in Jehovah now and at all times, according to his faith and his experience (ver. 3), in connec- tion with his prayer (ver. 4 a), and with the pro- mise that he should be heard ver, 4 b) ; and then passes over to the description of what has hap- pened to him through Jehovah's help, since the last evening (ver. 5 a) until the present morning (ver. 5 b), and in what frame of mind he now is (ver. 6). It is out of this frame of mind correspond- ing with the dangers of his situation that the true cry of prayer then breaks forth.* — Holy hill. Hitzig would think of the hill of God (1 Sam x* * [Barnes : " He gave utterance to the deep anguish of his soul in words. So did the Saviour in Gethsemane (Matthi xxvi, 39^. —Kj, A. B.J PSALM III. 66 6), or the Mount of Gibeon (1 Kings iii. 4, comp. 2 Chron. i. 3; 1 Chron. xxi. 29), if not of Sinai (1 Kings xix. 8), or Basban (Ps. Ixviii. 16). But there is no reference to a consecrated mountain on which at any time Jehovah appeared and spoke to men, or accepted their worship ; but to the abiding-place of the revelation and authority of Jehovah among His people, whither the prayer- ful turn with the assurance of receiving an an- swer. This place was from the time of Moses above the ark of the covenant, and the ark had been brought by David from Kirjath-jearim to Jerusalem, 2 Sam. vi.; 1 Chron. xiii. 5, and in his flight from Absalom it was not taken with him, 2 Sam. xv. 25. It can therefore only mean Mount Zion. The entire hypothesis of Hitzig is thus shattered. [Delitzsch: " He was now sepa- rated from the place of the Divine presence by hostile power. But his prayer presses through to the throne of the cherubim, and there is no wall of separation, either in space or the creature, to the answer given by Him who is there en- throned."—C. A. B.] [Str, III. Ver. 6. I laid me down and slept. — A reference to the past night (Delitzsch). Barnes: "Notwithstanding these troubles and dangers, I had such confidence that God hears prayer, and such calm trust in His protection, that I laid me down gently and slept securely. The Psalmist mentions this as a remarkable proof of the Divine protection and favor." — I awaked. — "Still safe and secure" (Barnes). Delitzsch: " It is because Jehovah has sustained him, the hand of God is his pillow, the gracious and omnipotent hand is under his head, he is in- accessible and without fear." Ver. 6. Barnes : "This exaltation may be re- garded in some measure as the result of the calm and refreshing slumber which he had enjoyed. The mind as well as the body had been refreshed and invig^irated. With the bright light of a new morning he looked with more cheerfulness and hope on the things around him, and felt new strength to meet the dangers to which he was ex- posed.—Ten thousands. — Myriads without any definite number being thought of, only a very great multitude. This is not a supposed case, for all Israel had gone over to Absalom (Delitzsch). Delitzsch: ''Selah is lacking at the end of this strophe, because it is not spoken in a tone of triumph, but of humility, and as a quiet expres- sion of confidence and faith." — C. A. B.] Str. IV. Ver. 7. Arise. — The accentuation kumdh instead of kumah (Rise up ! arise 1 a cry to Jehovah, for the first time. Num. x. 35) is best explained by Hupfeld as : with the design of spe- cial emphasis [Delitzsch : " God arises when He interferes to decide the events of this world."] The cry for help is based upon the following clause with 'Z) ; and the perfects are the so-called prophetical perfects, which indicate the action as one certainly to be expected (De Wette), but a real one (almost all recent interpreters). The objection of De Wette that then the prayer would be superfluous, because no more enemies were present, is not to be refuted on the ground that /D, kol, all, is not to be regarded as numerical (Hupf.), or refers to many particular events (De- 5 litzsch). The word refers rather to the myriadi which now surrounded the Psalmist in hostility. He fears them not, because in previous cases God has always brought the enemies of the poet (my enemies) to shame and ruin, whether many or few. [The perfects here are real perfects, with Ewald, Delitzsch, Hupf, Alexander, Barnes, etal., and the reference is to the foreign enemies, Philistines, Amorites, etc., and his enemies of the house of Saul, whom the Lord had destroyed before him. This is the most natural and logical order of thought. The Psalmist, in the last strophe, strengthens himself with reference to the experience of the past night, and in this strophe by remembrance of the experiences of his past conflicts with his enemies. As the experience of the past night gives him confidence, the experience of the past deliverances stimulates him to renewed prayer as he recalls his present dangers. — C. A. B.] As God is represented under the figure of a warlike hero and hunter, so the enemies are re- presented under the figure of ravenous beasts, from whom all power of injuring the friend of God has been taken away by crushing their jaws, and the teeth fixed therein. God prepares for them a complete and shameful overthrow (Hengst. and Delitzsch). The double accusative of the object, ver. 7 b, should be noticed. Ver. 8. "In the lamed of possession and the generic article before 7\}}W'' there is an exclu- siveness of possession and the free power of dis- posal" (Delitz.). — [Thy blessing be upon. — This is not the statement of a fact (A. V.: Thy blessing is upon Thy people), but an intercessory prayer. David prays for his own deliverance, and then, that the salvation of the Lord may rest upon his people. Thus almost all recent com- mentators.— C. A. B.] The closing word which " casts a clear light into the depths of the noble soul" (Ewald) turns now from the personal to national aflfairs (De Wette). It refers not only to that part of the people which had remained faithful to David, as the only genuine people of Jehovah (Aben Ezra), but it implores blessings instead of curses, and has as its antitype the words "Father, forgive them" of the other Da- vid whom His people had crucified (Delitzsch). Bottcher, however, considers this verse as a later liturgical addition. Bugenhagen, aptly : ^^benedictio Dei est Dei beneficcntia." DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL. 1. If the first word in severe affliction is to call upon the name of the Lord, then lamentation is changed into prayer, and the soul no longer swims in a sea of trouble, it lays hold of God again, and begins to believe and to hope. 2. The conspiracy of the adversaries is worse than their number ; and the arrows of scorn are sharper than the sword, in piercing the heart. But the heart is wounded much more deeply when the complaints and condemnations of opponents cannot be refuted by a pure conscience as merely hateful slanders and wicked abuse. Then to the external affliction there is added internal con- flicts which beget sufi'ering for the soul, and lead to spiritual struggles. George von Anhalt showed his brother John three remedies against such 66 THE FIRST BOOK OF PSALMS. struggles: Faith in the forgiveness of sins, in the resurrection, and in an eternal life. 3. In spiritual conflicts human judgment does not decide. Only the afflicted must not allow themselves to be pressed away from God, or to be wearied and lamed by doubting the Divine mercy. For those who resign themselves to Him, God is always as the faithful Ood of the Covenant, a Shield protecting on all sides, as He was for Abraham, Gen. xv. 1, and for all Israel, Deut. xxxiii. 29. It is God, who not only main- tains the honor of His servants, restores them again when disgraced, and surrounds the abused king with the splendor of majesty, but He Him- self is the essential idea of all honor, majesty, and glory ; and the world cannot deprive the pious of Him even in the uttermost misery. Moreover, it is God who not only lifts up the head of the afflicted which is wearied, and has fallen upon the breast, and raises again the crown of fallen princes which has been thrown down; but does the same thing to the penitent sinner who has bowed his face to the dust, and with the down-trodden righteous man whose head lies upon the ground. 4. The assurance that prayer will be heard is a great comfort to the afflicted, especially if these have already had personal experience of it. Although separated from the place where God has previously given them the experience of His gracious presence, yes, although they are obliged to be deprived of the help of Divine ser- vice, and all the ordinary means of grace, the voice of prayer presses above all to God, and the answer of the Lord comes to those who sincerely supplicate Him. 5. Those who awake after a night full of dan- ger, and give the Lord the glory with thankful recognition of the protection and assistance of the Almighty, whose hand has been under the head of the slumbering (Song Sol. ii. 6), those are usually filled with fresh courage and faith. From the thankfulnrss of the morn- ing psalm springs joy fulness for the work of the day ; fearlessness, in spite of all the enemies which surround him, and heartfelt confidence in Divine help; and thence again prayer and supplication take a fresh start with an earnestness and a fervor which urges to the boldest importunity, yet without overstepping the bounds assigned to the creature. 6. Whoever has the true God for his God may be forsaken by all the world, and experience that human assistance is of no profit ; but " if all kinds of misfortune, affliction, and tribula- tion, are heaped upon him, yet it is the Lord who then saves him ; in His hand is help and blessing" (Luther); and whoever, on the basis of the revelation of the covenant is in communion with Him by faith, makes the experience in his heart through faith, that he is comforted by Di- vine promises, and has the experience in his life that to the previous help he has received from the hand of God, new deliverances are constantly added. 7. However it is not enough merely to have a God, to believe in Him and call upon Hira; the question is : What God ? For Jehovah, the God of the historical revelation, is the only God who possesses and distributes those things which afford help, deliverance, and salvation, in bodily and spiritual needs, for time and for eternity. 8. Those who are truly pious think not only of their own deliverance, and their personal sal- vation; if they earnestly care for this, Ihej pray at the same time for Divine blessings upon the whole people, that Divine judgment may be turned away from the guilty, and for the salva- tion of all who return in repentance to God. Deus est satis idoneus patientix sequester. Si in- juriam deposueris apud eum, ultor est; si damnum, restitutor est; si dolor em, medicns est; si mortem, resuscitator est [Tertull. de patient. 15). HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL. To truly flee for refuge is to flee to God, for that leads us, 1) from the tumult of the world into the peace of God ; 2) from earthly oppres- sion to everlasting salvation; 3) from the power of men to the hands of God.— He who can pray in time of need is in the way of salvation ; for 1) he looks beyond the multitude and strength of his oppressors, to the power and favor of the Most High ; 2) he hears not the scorn and threat- enings of his enemies, but the comforting voice and answer of his God; 3) he experiences, amid all the afflictions and anxieties of his heart, the comfort of communion with Him, who is the sole help in time of need, and the true deliverer of the faithful. — 'The sword of the enemy threatens his body, the scorn of the ungodly aims at his soul, but God is a shield and protection against both. — He who prays in faith, casts all his care on the Lord, therefore he goes to sleep trusting in DiYine protection ; even after a day full ol ca- lamity he is calm, and awakes to the battle of life full of fresh boldness of faith, with renewed prayer for the help of the Lord. — Let him, who would not be ruined in time of danger, take re- fuge with the Lord, for then : 1) He does not complain, but prays; 2) he does not doubt, but trusts in the living God; 3) he does not tremble, but gains hope and courage. Personal expe- riences of grace bring an enduring blessing; for: 1) They protect against the scorn of unbe- lievers in times of calamity ; 2) they strengthen the assurance that our prayers will be heard in time of strong opposition ; 3) they lead to a lively resignation to God in days when all hu- man greatness, skill, and power, seem to be no- thing.— Against the enemy of our country we fight not only with the sword, but with those spiritual weapons : 1) prayer ; 2) trust in God; 3) humiliation under the strong hand of God; 4) exaltation in the name and power of the Lord. — The necessity of the times is no sign that we are forsaken by God, but, 1) reminds us of our weakness ; 2) refers us to the works of the Lord; 3) encourages us to pray ; 4) warns us against devotion to the world; 6) exhorts us to seek the blessing of the Lord. — He who gives the glory to God, makes the best provision for his own eleva- tion: 1) From a previous fall; 2) from present need; 3) from impending death. — A king can present to his people nothing more noble than a lively piety ; nothing more precious than salva- tion by Jehovah; can ask nothing better than the blessing of the Lord. — We may have many enemies, but our help comes from one only true PSALM IV. 67 God, who is the heat friend to those who trust in Him. — The blessing of God belongs to the people of God. Starke : David had fled from God his true Father, now he must flee from a rebellious son. This is the retribution of God; like with like. — Even blood relationship is destroyed by sin and Satan. — Unhappy children, who drive away their parents ; blessed parents, who are driven to God by the wickedness of their children. — Pray to God, who is able to convert even lost sons. — If the Lord show thee the multitude of thine ene- mies, He will likewise show thee the riches of His help. — We must not heed the talk of the enemy, but hold fast to the word of our God — The world judges perversely ; the pious are al- ways accused of being ungodly, whilst on the contrary the irreligious would be considered nearest God. — God often lets His children appear to be forsaken in their own eyes, and the eyes of others, that their faith may be tried, their belief in the Word of promise purified, and their childlike hope crowned. — Faith and prayer go together. For faith, is experienced by prayer and prayer receives from faith its true form and validity. — Our strength is derived from both. — If the danger and the necessity are great, the inward strength- ening of God is regulated accordingly. — Whoever desires God to grant his prayers for assistance, must be able to call the Lord his God, not only because He is Creator and Redeemer, but also because He sanctifies those who accept Him. — With the pious the cross has ever a sorrowful beginning but a joyful ending. Luther : There is no trouble, however severe it may be, that is to be compared with that against which Jeremiah (xvii. 17) prays with trembling, when God contends with man. Osiander: When God's promises are received with faith, they give to a godly man a peaceful heart, because he trusts himself to God, his true Father. — Strigel : We must above all notice the gradation of thought : When attacked he prays, when he prays he is saved, when saved he gives thanks. — Selnekkeb: Whoever will serve God must suffer persecution, and must have the whole world, yes, his own flesh and blood, for enemies; but whoever trusts God belongs to Him, and shall remain His, though the whole world per- secute him. — Arndt : It is the essential charac- ter of faith: 1) That it lays the care and burden of the heart upon God ; 2) that it expels fear and terror ; 3) that it trusts God against all ene- mies.— Frisch: When faith brings peace into the heart the body is likewise benefited. — Herber- GER: Distress teaches to pray, and prayer drives all trouble away. — The heart as well as the head belongs on high. — Rieger : Although relief is delayed, still the blessing of the Lord is with His people. [Matt. Henrt: True Christian fortitude con- sists more in a gracious security and serenity of mind, in patient bearing and patient waiting, than in daring enterprises with sword in hand. — A child of God startles at the very thought of despairing of help in God ; you cannot vex him with any- thing so much as if you ofi^er to persuade him " there is no help for him in God." — A cheerful resignation to God is the way to obtain a cheer- ful satisfaction and confidence in God. — Pro- mises of salvation do not supersede, but engage our petitions for it. — Barnes : That we are " awaked " in the morning, after a night's refreshing slumber ; that we are raised up again to the enjoyments of life; that we are permitted again to greet our friends, and to unite with them in the privileges of devo- tion, should always be regarded as a new proof of the goodness of God, and should lead to acts of praise. — Who has not experienced the influ- ence of the slumbers of a night, and of the light of the morning, in giving new vigor, and inspi- ring new hopes, as if the returning day was an emblem of brighter scenes in life, and the pass- ing away of the shades of night a token that all trouble and sorrow would flee away? — Spur- geon: May we ever wait with holy confi- dence in our hearts, and a song upon our lips. — Search Scripture through and you must, if you read it with a candid mind, be persuaded that the doctrine of salvation by grace alone is the great doctrine of the Word of God. — C. A. B.] PSALM IV. To the Chief Musician on Neginoih — A Psalm of David. 1 Hear me wlieii I call, 0 God of my righteousness: Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress ; Have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. 2 0 ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame ? How long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing ? Selah. 3 But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: The Lord will hear when I call unto him. 68 THE FIRST BOOK OF PSALMS. 4 Stand in awe, and sin not : CommuDe with your own heart upon your bed, and be stiil. Selah. 5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And put your trust in the Lord. 6 There he many that say, Who will shew us any good ? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. 7 Thou hast put gladness in my heart, More than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. 8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep : For thou, Lord, only Makest me dwell in safety. EXEGETICA.L AND CRITICAL. Title and Division. — This Psalm, assigned to the chief musician [vid. Introduct.), was not to be accompanied with wind instruments, or in- struments of alarm, but only with string instru- ments [Neginoth vid. Introduct.]. This agrees with the character of the Psalm as an evening Psalm (ver. 8), and with the soothing rhythm especially of the last strophe. This last strophe, which brings the Psalm as well as the Psalmist to repose, is of three members, as the first strophe, which contains a cry to God for help; whilst the three intermediate strophes are of lour members. Of these, moreover, the first two are divided by Selah into a warning and an exhortation ; the third, which contrasts the courageous faith and joy in God of the pious Psalmist, with discou- raged and earthly-minded men, has not the mu- sical interlude. Whilst Seb. Schmidt, Glaus, De Wette, Ilupf., etal., deny the marks of David, and regard the individual features at once as general, Olshausen at least has recognized their indivi- dual character, and Ewald has beautifully ex- plained the Davidic features of the Psalm. With the most of the interpreters he puts this Psalm side by side with the previous one in the dan- gerous times of the rebellion of Absalom. Even Hitzig recognizes the connection between these two Psalms, bat he assigns it as previously Ve- nema, to the situation of David, according to 1 Sam. XXX. Lightfoot and J. H. Michaelis sup- pose it refers to the rebellion of Sheba, 2 Siui. XX. [Delitzsch : "A Davidic evening Psalm fol- lows a Davidic morning Psalm. The connection is clear from the mutual reference of iv. 6 to iii. 2, and iii. 5 to iv. 8. These two are the only Psalms in which the language of others is cited with 'many that say.' The one is explained his- torically from the title of the other. It follows from iv. 2, 'how long,' and the words of the faint- hearted, iv. 6, that Ps. iv. is the later one." Perowne: "The thoughts and turns of expres- sion in the one are not uolike those in the other. As in the former he heard many saying to his soul, 'There is no help for him in God' (ver. 2), 60 in this he hears many saying, 'Who will show us any good V (ver. 6). As in that he knew that though at a distance from the Tabernacle, he was not at a distance from God, but would receive an answer to his prayer from the 'holy mountain' (ver. 4), BO in this, though the priests have re- turned with the Ark to Jerusalem, he can look for the 'light of Jehovah's countenance,' which is better than the Urim and Thummim of the priestly ephod."— C. A. B] Str. I. Ver. 1. My God of righteousness [0 God of my righleousness — A. V.]. — This trans- lation embraces very well the various references of the Hebrew expression. "Jehovah is the possessor of righteousness, the author of right- eousness, the Judge of righteousness, and He justifies righteousness when it is misunderstood and persecuted" (Delitzsch). The following translations are likewise grammatically indispu- table: God of my right (De Wette), comp. Ps. xvii. 1 ; God of my righteousness (Hupfeld [Wordsworth, Perowne]) ; my righteous God (Hengst. [Barnes]). The following perfect is limited by Hitzig to the deliverance from the calamity which he hag just experienced and lamented in Ps. iii. Hengst., Delitzsch, et al., on the other hand, refer it to a se- ries of previous experiences, and therefore trans- late it as present. [Delitzsch : " Many times he had been in straits, and God made room for him. The idea is of the expansion of the breathing and of space. It means — space for the anxious heart, Ps. XXV. 17 ; Is. Ix. 5 ; space for the straitened situation, Ps. xviii. 19; cxviii. 5." — C. A. B.] Ewald and Ilupf. regard it as a relative clause, on account of its position between two impera- tives. [Perowne: ''Thou (that) in straiiness hast made room for me." This seems to be the best rendering. It makes the strophe more har- monious. It then refers to the deliverance from that critical situation in which he was placed before he received intelligence from Jerusalem, and crossed the Jordan into a wider and safer region. Here he could breathe more freely and make preparations to meet his foes. — C. A. B.] De Wette, in spite of the failure of the vav con- sec, views it as imperative, and supports this view by citing parallel passages, which he falsely explains. Str. II. "Ver. 2. Sons of men. — According to Hitzig, denotes men in contrast to women, and refers to those which accompany David. Ac- cording to Hupfeld, it refers to the human weak- ness and carnal mind of the many (ver. 6), who might be addressed emphatically as : ye children of men. [Barnes: "As having human feelings, passions, and purposes, in strong distinction from PSALM IV. 69 that righteous God to whom he had just made his solemn appeal." — -C. A. B.] According to most interpreters, the reference is to the prominent men among the crowd, among whom, then, here, the few unsatisfied and per- pljpsed companions of David, the heroes (Tho- luck), beloved men (Luther), or since Kimchi, the aristocracy, whose instrument Absalom was, the "great fellows" in Luther's margin, who dishonored the royal dignity at the same time that they violated David's personal honor. [It does not seem necessary to give to 'isA an empha- tic signification. There is no contrast here with 'adam. The contrast is with God, as Hupfeld and Barnes show. Yet the reference is not so much to human weakness and a carnal mind, as to the fact that whilst men dishonor him, God has honored him, and will honor him again by hearing his prayer. And then when man is con- trasted with God, even though a vir or an ^ish there is necessarily implied in this contrast human weakness and littleness. — C. A. B.] Vanity. — This hardly means : worldly vanity (De Wette), but either the vanity of their de- signs (Kimchi), or, still better, the vanity of their reasons, to which they appeal in their re- bellion, which conceal from themselves and others its true character. It is not necessary, therefore, to regard the rebellion itself as marked with the name Lie [^Leasiriff — A. V. Old English word for lying and falsehood. — C. A. B.] (Calv. ). Lying and deceit have been the means of their demands. Comp. 2 Sam. xv. 7 sq. (Hengst.). The Septuagint follows a different reading : viol hvd'puTTuv eug ndre papvK&pdtoi ; so also the Vulgate, many ancient Fathers, and Augustine. The graves corde are then supposed by the inter- preters to be: people either of idle and cowardly or of hard, obstinate and unfeeling hearts. Ver. 3. "Wonderfully selected [set apart ■ — A. V.]. — The verb contains the idea of discri- mination (Ex, viii. 18), more closely, the meaning of extraordinary distinction in the Divine go- vernment (Ex. xxxiii. 16; Ps. cxxxix. 14). The comparison of Ps. xxxi. 21 with Ps. xvii. 7 only shows that there is no essential difference be- ■ tween H/fln and k13T\ (as 87 Codd. Kennic,and 28 De Rossi read here Kwiin, Deut. xxviii. 59; Is. xxviii. 29). It cannot be decided from the word itself, whether we are to suppose here Di- vine distinction=wonderful guidance in general (Luther and most interp., Sept., ed-av/LidaruaE, Vulg., mirificavit, for which, in many Psalters. admirabilem fecit or magnificavit, which already inclines to the other explanation^, or whether there is meant here special selection=elevation to the royal dignity. With this last interpreta- tion Calvin, partially following the example of the Syriac with Rabb. Isaki and Kimchi, unites di- rectly to the verb the 17 which follows somewhat later in the passage; whilst Hengst enberg unites it closely with the noun which immediately pre- cedes it, as those do also who advocate the first mentioned explanation. These, then, translate, mostly, "A{* holy one" (the plural of the Vulg. is against the text), ana take it in the ethical sense^his pious one, following the Sept.: rbv haiov avrSv. The grammatical connection is then usually more correctly explained after the ana- logy of Ps. xvii. 7 (Rosenm.), at the same time, with a different meaning of the word. Thus Evvald, Maurer, Olsh , De Wette translate: he that is faithful to him ; Camphausen : he that is devoted to him; Hitzig: his friend; J. H. Mi- chaelis: graiiosum sibi. Hupfeld endeavors to show that the parallel passage, Ps. xxxi. 21, fa- vors the connection of w with the verb, and that T'DFl, a denominative of Hpn, must derive its meaning from the specific idea and terminus of the grace and mercy of God, first of all towards Israel, then towards the individually pious; and that the passive form of the verb also, according to the passive meaning=favored, standing in a condition of grace, in a covenant of grace with Jehovah in the Old Covenant, is almost the only prevailing meaning ; whilst the meaning accepted here by Calvin [benignum), and by him and Hengstenberg (one who has and exercises love), as the original and justifiable usage, seldom occurs (e. g., of God's grace towards men, Ps. cxlv. 17 ; Jer. iii. 12 ; of the kindness of men towards one another, Ps. xii. 1 ; xviii. 25 ; xliii. 1 ; Mich. vii. 2 ; as a religious practice well pleasing to God, Hos. vi. 6, according to its nature and derivation as T'On of Elohim or Je- hovah, 1 Sam. X. 14; 2 Sam. ix. 13), and ori- ginated from transfer, which goes to tJie farthest extent, Jer. ii. 2. Delitzsch hesitates respecting the derivation and meaning of this word upon which he erroneously lays the chief emphasis. But the emphasis, according to position and sense, belongs partly to the verb which, accord- ing to him, means not only mere selection, but wonderful selection, partly to the pronoun, whose position also at the end of the sentence, accord- ing to the grammatical connection which he ap- proves, in any case attracts attention, and ac- cording to my view expresses this thought: that he who is distinguished by God is, in his posi- tion of grace and honor, not only of some import- ance for men, but also for God, and is designed, and stands ready for the Divine service and glory. This suits the situation better, and means more than if the Psalmist merely said that to which the grammatical separation of v) from the verb would lead: he has not been brought into his high position by men but by God, or also he has already experienced previ- ously many wondrous guidances. But the ana- logy of Scripture is against the view that he sought the reason of his election, elevation, and support, in his subjective piety, goodness, or any other moral excellence, or that he would base on these the assurance that his present prayer would be heard. But it is frequently to be seen in sa- cred history that Jehovah has selected from the crowd of those whom He has favored, some one for His special use, who also is conscious of this relation, and may appeal to it for comfort. Sir II. Ver. 4. Tiemhle.— I'' Stand in awe,'* A. v.], viz.: before the wrath of God. The translation of the Septuagint bpyil^eG-&e, as Eph. iv. 6 \_Be ye angry and sin not'\ is grammati- cally possible, for the Hebrew verb denotes in general, to be shaken, to be unquiet ; and indi- cates as well, trembling on account of wrath as , of fear (Augustine, Luther, Hitzig), But in no case can the negative be drawn to the verb, (ag 70 THE FIRST BOOK OF PSALMS. Dathe, and even Hengstenberg). The context favors the view that here also, as in most cases, the trembling of the creature before the appear- ance of God (Hupf.) is used as the motive of warning. [Delitzsch: " He vparns His adversa- ries of blind passion, and advises them to quiet meditation and solitary consideration that they may not ruin their own salvation." Riehm; " You may continue to be angry (until by Divine help your anger is shown to be unreasonable), but at least do not sin by abusing the man who is favored by Jehovah, but instead of giving vent to your anger in abusive words, speak in your heart upon your bed, and be silent. This suits the context, and since ragaz can scarcely mean holy fear of God without ''Ji3D this explanation is preferable." Wordsworth supposes that "David now turns from his enemies to his friends, and checks their wrath. David may be supposed to be addressing such zealous partisans as Abishai his nephew, who, when David was flying from Absalom, was trans- ported with indignation against his persecu- tors, and craved leave to take off the head of Shimei, who cursed David, and was restrained by him in the spirit of this Psalm. See also Da- vid's merciful charge with regard to the life of Absalom himself, 2 Sam. xviii. 5." The histo- rical allusion of Wordsworth seems to be the most correct, the grammatical explanation of Eiehm the most proper. It seems more harmo- nious with Wordsworth {yid. further below) to make the change from enemies to worldly-minded friends here, ver. 4 instead of ver. 6, as is gene- rally done.— C. A. B.] The addition of in your heart \^^with your heart,'" A. V.] indicates the speaking \_^^com- mune," A. V.] as an internal one, which every one does within himself, and indeed as spiritual consideration and deliberation ; for the heart, according to Hebrew ideas, is not so much the pathological seat of the feelings, as the sphere of ethical, rational consideration in order to form determinations of the will. The quiet of evening, and the silence of the night which works mightily upon the inner life of man, is especially suited to such consideration and reflection as involves mo- ral resolutions. The couches are therefore to be regarded as beds (Aben Ezra) and not as divans in the assemblies (Mich. Or. Bibl. X. 126), Be still, could mean the silence from calum- niation (Aben Ezra, Ewald, Koster, Olsh.) or even the keeping quiet, as well in the sense of quiet sub- mission to the Divine will in contrast to murmuring and contradicting, as in that of discontinuing his movements (Hupf.) It is not correct to suppose that it is the discontinuance of the raging of the rebels in consequence of reflection (Hengst., Delitzsch). The explanation of Hitzig: those who are excited to anger might occasionally be angry, but not lend any words to their ill-humor tow- ards God lest they sin, leaves entirely out of consideration the fact that even the language of anger kept close in the heart is a sin, and that Jehovah is a discerner of the heart. [However they might quiet their anger by meditation in the still hours of the night. And if this is addressed to his own followers, Joab and Abishai, etc., they had reason for righteous indignation, to be angry in the sense of the Apostle, but not to sin. They were to restrain their wrath by meditation, and be still, lest it should burst forth beyond its just limits and become sin. Perowne : *' Let the still hours of the night bring calmer and wiser thoughts with them." — C A. B.J Ver. 6. Offer sacrifices of righteous- ness.— The difficulty of finding the true connec- tion vanishes with the consideration that already in the previous verse the rebels received a Sum- mons in the form of a warning to act righteously, and indeed essentially with reference to religion, and that this demand already passed over into direct exhortation ; furthermore, that the rebels who were in possession of Jerusalem performed the sacrifices, but lacked the proper disposition which was likewise demanded by the law ; finally that there is expressed not so much a contrast to a mean and vain trust in their own prudence, power, and earthly possessions, (De Wette), which their opponents were, it is true, in pos- session of (ver. 7 b.), and still less an encourage- ment to his timid companions to trust in God, but rather the contrast between those who de- pend on Jehovah, and those who depend on the ceremonies and lip service which they practice; for the rebellion against the Anointed of Jehovah can be consistent only with the latter and not with the former.— Sacrifices of righteousness are not only those which are performed correctly according to the ritual; not only the sacrifices due on account of sins that have been com- mitted, after the presentation of which they are to turn with hope to Jehovah (Ewald, Olshausen) ; so also not righteous works and moral actions in a symbolical sense (with which interpretation Hitzig regards as most correct, righteousness itself as the sacrifice which is to be brought, and indeed perhaps not righteousness towards the Psalmist, but proper behaviour to- wards Jehovah, whilst the glory due to Him is given, and the obligated trust is bestowed upon Him) ; but true sacrifices performed with a disposition in accordance with the will of God, and the meaning of the law.* Str.IV. Ver. 6. Many.— These are no longer those previously addressed (the most interpre- ters, even Hitzig) ; but also not the people in ge- neral (Calv. ) ; nor men of the world, who long after earthly blessings (Hupf. [Barnes]); nor compa- nions in sufl"ering in general, especially among the fellow-countrymen of the Psalmist (De Wette);t nor unsatisfied complainers (Sachs) ; but those constantly increasing in. number in David's lit- tle band who were discouraged. The words are not an ordinary proverb of the carnal disposi- tion of the multitude ( Venema), nor a question of impatience or of reproach (Hupf J, but a doubt- ing question of despondency in view of the future (Delitzsch). It is better to take it as a question * [Wordsworth, in accordance with this view, whicb eeems to be more correct, speaking to his followers : " Ye are now ex- cluded from the privilege of access to God's altar on Mount Zion ; but still you may offer sacrifices of righteousness, the sacrifice of the heart. Offer sacrifices of righteousness in mercy and meekness, not with hands stained with blood."— 0. A. B.] t [De Wette supposes that the Psalmist reflects upon the many who suffer with him, and includes them in his nraver The prayer is the optative expressing the longings of their soul and his own. "Othat we might see prosperity "—0. PSALM IV. 71 than aa an optative, (De Wette) although the lat- ter is possible. Lift upon us the light of thy counte- nance. These words are treated by Uupfeld and Camphausen as still the words of the many, but it is more suitable to ascribe them to the author, in whose intercession the two solemn ex- pressions of priestly blessing, Num. vi. 25, 26, ^ ^ make shine,'' ^ '■^liftup'' melt pregnantly together. It is doubtful whether there is not still a third reference entwined with the others by an allusion of the form HDJ (for the pointing compare Som- mer^ B Bibl. Abhandl. 1. 110) to OJ=banner, stand- ard (Sachs: let stream; Delitzsch, better: let wave). But since Delitzsch himself grants that the derivation (Isaki, Rosenm. ) from ODJ is not allowable, and the reference is only to be recog- nized by the eye, and not by the ear, it is ad- visable, with Aben Ezra, Luther, et al., to hold fast to this ; that HDJ is like tttCJ (which is in- t: t : ^ deed the reading of 1 Codd. Kenn.), especially as the last mentioned form of the imperative is used also in Ps. x. 12 instead of the usual form, Niy. E. von Ortenberg [Zur Textkritik der Psalmen, 1861, p. 2) wishes also to make the alteration even there. The Vulgate has signatum est, according to the Sept.: kajj/nec^drj^made known by a sign, which is explained by most interpreters : it beams so that it may be known. [Riehm: "instead of despairing, he believes ; instead of complaining, he prays. He opposes his own prayer to the unbelieving question of the many." — Upon us, Alexander : " indicates the expansive, comprehen- sive spirit of true piety, extends the prayer to his companions in misfortune." — C. A. B.] Ver. 7. Greater than [3/ore than — A, V.]. — This sentence is very much contracted, and con- tains really three ellipses: (1) of an adjective, greater or better; (2) of the idea compared, joy ; (3) of the relative either after lime (Gesenius), or after new wine (J. H. Mich.), especially if we would translate according to the accents: than at the time of their corn and new wine, when they are abundant ; and if we would not take the fol- lowing ^3T as an independent clause: they are many. For the particulars comp. Hupfeld. Aben Ezra, Kimchi, Flaminus, Sachs, avoid the ellipses with the exception of that of the relative by the translation : since that their corn, etc. This translation is, however, connected with historical explanations which are entirely untenable The translation of the Vulg. follows the reading of the Sept.: of the fruit of their corn and wine and oil they had abundance. But instead ofafructu, many ancient Psalteries read [vid. Schegg) a tempore, which leads to the reading <i7rd Katpov instead of airb Kapizov. Ewald, Olsh., Caraph. explain the suffix as impersonal. Hupfeld refers it to the many (ver, 6) ; most others, correctly, to the enemies of the poet, and indeed most properly thus: that the quiet joy of the royal Psalmist, who rejoices in God, whilst he is suffering want in a time when food can only occasionally be brought to him, owing to the hostility excited against him in almost the entire land (2 Sam. ivi. 1; xvii. 26 sq.), is set far above the loud raging of his enemies, who revel in the abundance of harvest; consequently the historical reference is maintained even here against the supposition that the poet merely uses a proverbial expression (Hupf , Hitzig, Camphausen, et al.) in order to put his religious joy higher than the highest worldly joy. [Delitzsch: "David had come to Mahanaim, whilst the rebels were encamped in Gilead. The land round about him was hostile, so that he had received provisions as stolen for his support, 2 Bam. xvii. 26-29. Perhaps it was about the time of the feast of the Tabernacles. The harvest of grain and wine was past. A rich harvest of corn and new wine had been brought into the barns. Absalom's collectors of revenue had a strong support in these rich provisions of which they had the disposal. David and his little band had the appearance of a band of beggars and free- booters. But the king, who has been brought from the sceptre to the beggar's staflf, is even more joyous than the rebels. What he has in his heart is a better treasure than they have in their barns and cellars," Words-, worth: "Many among you (David is speak- ing to his followers, who accompanied him in his flight from Jerusalem over the Mount of Olives, and look wistfully and despondingly on the city from which they were driven), many among you are saying, Where is any hope left? Who will show us any good? And he turns from . them and raises his eyes to God: * Lord, lift, thou up the light of thy countenance upon tis.' We cannot now, it is true, offer the sacrifices of vic- tims before the Ark at Jerusalem, but we may offer the sacrifices of the spirit. We have not ac- cess to the Urim and Thummim on the High Priest's breast-plate in the sanctuary ; but God will lift up the light of His countenance upon us. We cannot now receive the benediction of the Priests: 'The Lord bless thee and keep thee : the Lord make His face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace ' (Num. vi. 24-26); but the Lord Himself is ever present with us to bless us, and He lifts up the light of His countenance upon us. There is our true good. There is our genuine gladness, — a gladness of heart, — greater than any which our enemies can feel on account of the increase of their material blessings of corn and wine (ver. 7)."— C. A. B.] Str . V . Ver, 8. The rapid change of experience which is admitted to prevail is so inconceivable to some interpreters, that they do not even re- gard the assurance of the praying Psalmist that he has received joy from the Lord, as a princi- ple derived from experience (with Hupfeld), to ■ which the praying man can refer in joyful re- membrance, with a glance towards the gracious light of the Divine countenance; still less, with Hengstenberg, do they allow without question that it is an expression of the comfort of faith received into the heart in consequence of the prayer just uttered, and of the assurance of faith in its being heard ; so also they do not put a pause somewhere between vers. 6 and 7 as indispensa- ble, that the agitated breast of the poet may have time to breathe, in order that his feelings may be- come composed ; but they suppose a longer space, and postulate for it a joyful heart, which then Hit- zig has spun to the conjecture that vers. 7 and 8 might have been subsequently added by the poet. » 72 THE FIRST BOOK OF PSALMS. If a particular event is insisted on between vers. 6 and 7, then it is easier, instead of con- jecturing any unknown good fortune, to suppose the fact well known to all experienced believers, that in ardent prayers made in times of severe calamity, they receive a Divine promise of cer- tainly being heard, and are transported with a bound from sickness to joy by the gracious coun- tenance of God shining upon them personally in the most fearful night of calamity. But even this spiritual explanation is entirely unneces- sary here, for the supposition of a change of sentiment is simply forced into the text. Al- ready in ver. 3 the Psalmist has expressed the confidence that his prayers would be heard, in the assurance of his peculiar relation to God, and from this position called upon his enemies to repent. From the same situation and confidence he continues to speak when he draws forth from their sighs and murmurs, the question circulating among his followers which had remained true to him, though discouraged. This question must be answered, and he answers it at once, but not theoretically or didactically, but practically, re- ligiously and ethically, so that the hearers who are spiritually wretched may be drawn into his comforting exercise, viz., to prepare themselves a peaceful and quiet sleep in the midst of their enemies by invoking Divine grace, by thankful confession of blessings already experienced, and by resignation to the protection of the Al- mighty. Directly will I lay me down and sleep. — The adverb, according to Hupfeld, is without em- phasis and merely serves to unite two synonymous verbs. But it is this very coincidence of that which the two verbs thus combined express, that is here undeniably expressed by the adverb, Ps. cxli. 10; Jer. xlii. 14 (Ewald, Delitzsch, Camph., Hitzig), which, after Aben Ezra, is explained by some: at the same time with my enemies; by others: together with my enemies. [Perowne : At once will I lay me down and sleep — as soon as I lie down, I sleep, not harassed by disturbing and anxious thoughts. — C. A, B.] — Alone in safety. — It is doubtful whether the adverb is to be connected with Jehovah according to the authority of the Punctators, for which, among recent interpreters, Ewald, Olsh., Camph. decide, and Hupfeld also at least inclines to this, because the reference to Jehovah as the only ground of his safety corresponds with the previous con- trast (Calvin : the alone sufficient One, who recom- penses the whole world) ; or whether it belongs to the speaker in the signification ^' alone," ^^ se- parate," with which the idea of safety and inti- macy is connected (especially clear in Jer. xlix. 31). 1 decide for this last interpretation, which is found in Sept., Vulg., and all ancient transla- tions, and Sachs, De Wette, Von Lengerke, De- litz,, Hitzig, among recent interpreters, because this not only gives a good sense, but because only Deut. xxxii. 12 can be adduced in the language for the possibility of the first signification, whilst all other passages are in favor of the latter, especially Deut. xxxiii. 28 is analogous, and per- haps typical, just as for the last words of the Psalm, Lev. xxv. 18, 19. Hengstenberg, who makes this prominent, would unite both references and adduces as a real parallel, Deut. xxxiii. 12. [Riehm : " The thought that Jehovah is the only protection, is without motive in the context, as it is not said that he lacked other protection, nor of the many that they sought other protection anywhere else. The 113^ and nC337 are pa- rallel, and express a common idea as the two verbs in the first member." So Alexander: "Alone in safety thou wilt make me dwell." These remarks of Riehm are convincing. De- litzsch: "The iambics with which the Psalm closes, are as the last sounds of a cradle song, which dies away softly, and as it were, falling to sleep itself. Dante is right; the sweetness of the music, and harmony of the Hebrew Psalter, has been lost in the Greek and Latin translations." — C. A. B.] DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL. 1. He who knows the moral nature of God, stands in a gracious personal relation to Him, and experiences Divine assistance ; has, even in severe times, joyfulness in prayer, courage for the struggle ordained for him, confidence in the help of God, and comfort with reference to the issue of his affliction. 2. Righteousness and Grace are not opposed to one another in God, but man must not forget that he must enter into positive and active relations with reference to both of these at- tributes of God, if he would obtain and re- tain righteousness, peace, and joy. " He who is perplexed with Divine government amidst the confusion in the world's move- ments, and asks: where then is Providence? demands that he should be directed to the sun in clear noonday" (Chrysostom). 3. He who is assured of his election, and his favor with God, loses all fear of man. But he must value the position given him, and should not only defend himself therein against calumniation, and «/anrfoM< against assaults, \>Mish.Q\x\& strengthen himself in it by submission to God, and remind others, even his adversaries, of their duty, and stimulate them by warning, admonition, and summons, to perform their obligations. 4. Where God causes His face to shine, there man is enabled to behold what he desires to see for his comfort and consolation in hours of gloom, which either he could not perceive in the hour of affliction, or could not profit by it, owing to the care, and fear, and unbelief, and doubt, which darkened his soul. The hope of faith is opposed to the doubt