FOREIGN
THEOLOGICAL LIBRARY
VOLUME
I.
HENGSTENBERG'S
COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.
T.& T. CLARK, 38,
MDCCCLXIX.
Digitized by Ted Hildebrandt at
Spring, 2007
COMMENTARY
ON
THE PSALMS,
BY
E. W.
HENGSTENBERG,
DOCTOR AND PROFESSOR OF
THEOLOGY IN
FOURTH EDITION, CAREFULLY
REVISED.
T. & T. CLARK, 38,
1869.
THE
BOOK OF PSALMS.
PSALM FIRST.
THE
Psalmist begins by extolling the blessedness of the right-
eous,
who is first described negatively, as turning away from the
counsels
of the wicked, ver. 1, and then positively, as having his
thoughts
engrossed with the Divine law, ver. 2. He proceeds
next
to delineate under a pleasant image the prosperity which
attends
him in all his ways, and places in contrast to this, the
destruction
which is the inseparable concomitant of the wicked,
vers.
3, 4. He grounds upon these eternal principles the confi-
dence,
that God will take out of the way whatever, in the course
of
events, appears to be at variance with them; that by His judg-
ment
He will overthrow the wicked, through whose malice the
righteous
suffer, and free His Church, which must consist only
of
the righteous, from their corrupting leaven; and, as it was
declared,
in vers. 3 and 4, that the Lord interests Himself in the
righteous,
and hence could not leave them helpless, while de-
struction
is the fate of the wicked, the former must in conse-
quence
be exalted above the latter, vers. 5, 6.
According to this order, which alone
secures to the "there-
fore"
at the beginning of ver. 5, and the "for" in ver. 6, their
proper
meaning, the Psalm falls into three strophes, each con-
sisting
of two verses.
The Psalm is primarily of an
admonitory character. What
it
says of the prosperity which attends the righteous, and the
perdition
which befalls the wicked, cannot but incite to imitate
the
one, and shun the other. In reference to this Luther re-
marks:
"It is the practice of all men to inquire after blessed-
ness;
and there is no man on earth who does not wish that it
1
2 THE BOOK OF
PSALMS.
might
go well with him, and would not feel sorrow if it went ill
with
him. But he, who speaks in this Psalm with a voice from
heaven,
beats down and condemns everything which the thoughts
of
men might excogitate and devise, and brings forth the only
true
description of blessedness, of which the whole world knows
nothing,
declaring that he only is blessed and prosperous whose
love
and desire are directed to the law of the Lord. This is a
short
description, one too that goes against all sense and reason,
especially
against the reason of the worldly-wise and the high-
minded.
As if he had said: Why are ye so busy seeking counsel?
why
are ye ever in vain devising unprofitable things? There is
only
one precious pearl; and he has found it, whose love and
desire
is toward the law of the Lord, and who separates him-
self
from the ungodly—all succeeds well with him. But who-
soever
does not find this pearl, though he should seek with ever
so
much pains and labour the way to blessedness, he shall never
find
it."
The Psalm has, besides, a
consolatory character, which comes
clearly
out in the last strophe; for it must tend to enliven the
hope
of the righteous in the grace of God, and fill them with
confidence,
that everything which now appears contrary to their
hope,
shall come to an end; that the judgment of God shall
remove
the stumbling-blocks cast in their way by the temporal
prosperity
of the wicked, and the troubles thence accruing to
them.
The truth contained in this Psalm is
as applicable to the
Church
of the New Testament as to that of the Old. It remains
perpetually
true, that sin is the destruction of any people, and
that
salvation is the inseparable attendant of righteousness.
Whatever,
in the course of things, seems to run counter to this,
will
be obviated by the remark, that a righteous man, as the
author
delineates him,—one whose desire is undividedly fixed
upon
the law of God, and to whom it is "his thought by day
and
his dream by night,"—is not to be found among the children
of
men. Just because salvation is inseparably connected with
righteousness,
an absolute fulfilment of the promise of the Psalm
cannot
be expected. For even when the innermost bent of the
mind
is stedfastly set upon righteousness, there still exist so
many
weaknesses and sins, that sufferings of various kinds
are
necessary, not less as deserved punishments, than as the
means
of improvement, which, so far from subverting the
PSALM
I. 3
principles
here laid down, serve to confirm them. The senti-
ment,
that "everything he does, prospers," which is literally
true
of the righteous, in so far as he is such, passes, in conse-
quence
of the imperfect nature of our righteousness, which alone
can
be charged with our loss of the reward that is promised to
the
perfect, into the still richly consolatory truth, that "all
things
work together for good to them who love God." Those
who
are blinded by Pelagianism, who know not the limited na-
ture
of human righteousness, and consequently want the only
key
to the mystery of the cross, do apprehend the truth of the
main
idea of the Psalm, but at the same time escape from it only
by
surrendering themselves to a crude Dualism. It is unques-
tionable,
say they, that the internal blessedness of life has no
other
ground than genuine piety; but as for outward things,
"which
depend upon natural influences, the relations and acci-
dents
of life, and the violent movements of the populace," one
can
make no lofty pretensions to them. Who can but feel that
natural
influences and such like things are here placed in com-
plete
independence of God, are virtually raised to the condition
of
a second God, and that we are at once translated from a
Christian
into a heathen sphere, in which latter, accident, fate,
Typhon,
Achriman, play a distinguished part, and all on the
same
ground, to wit, the want of that knowledge of sin, which
peculiarly
belongs to revelation? Such masters must not take
it
upon them to instruct the Psalmist, but must learn of him.
Whoever
really believes in one true God, the Creator, Preserver,
and
Governor of the world, cannot but accord with the doctrine
of
the Psalmist. It is impossible to disparage in the least the
doctrine
of recompense, without trenching closely upon the truth
of
one God. Internal good, as the
perfect, is contrasted with
external, as the imperfect. But
where, in reality, is the man,
who
enjoys complete inward blessedness—who, even though
labouring
under the greatest delusion regarding his state, can
spend
so much as one day in perfect satisfaction with himself?
Besides,
is it not natural, that the external should go hand in
hand
with the internal? And have we any reason, on account
of
the troubles which befall us, to doubt the omnipotence and
righteousness
of God, and the truth of that doctrine of Scrip-
ture,
which pervades both economies, and appears in every book
from
Genesis to Revelation, that God will recompense to every
one
according to his works? Instead of running into such
4 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
mournful
aberrations, it behoves every one, when he reads what
the
Psalmist says of the righteous—"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"—and finds that his own condition pre-
sents
a melancholy contrast to what is here described, to turn
back
his eye upon the first and second verses, and inquire
whether
that which is there affirmed of the righteous will apply
to
him; and if he finds it to be otherwise, then should he smite
upon
his breast, and cry, "God be merciful to me a sinner,"
and
thereafter strive with all earnestness to realize the pattern
there
delineated, by employing the means which God has ap-
pointed
for the purpose.
The subject of the Psalm is, as
might be judged from the
previous
remarks, quite general, and it is an error in several
expositors
to refer it to particular times and persons. There is
great
probability in the opinion of those, who suppose with
Calvin,
that this Psalm, originally occupying another position,
was
placed by the collector of the Psalms, as an introduction to
the
whole. Basilius calls it a "short preface" to the Psalms; and
that
this view is of great antiquity, may be gathered from Acts
xiii.
33, where Paul, according to the reading agreed upon by the
most
approved critics (Erasmus, Mill, Bengel, Griesbach, etc.),
quotes
as the first Psalm that which, in our collection, occupies
the
second place. If the first was considered only as a sort of
introductory
preface, the numbering would begin with the one
following,
as, indeed, is the case in some manuscripts. The
matter
of the Psalm is admirably suited to this application of
it.
"The collector of these songs," says Amyrald, "seems to
have
carefully placed before the eye of his readers, at the very
threshold,
the aim at which the actions of men should, as so
many
arrows, be directed." The position of the Psalm at the
beginning
appears peculiarly suitable, if, along with its admoni-
tory
tendency, the consolatory is also brought prominently out.
In
the latter respect, it may be regarded as in fact a short corn-
pend
of the main subject of the Psalms. That God has ap-
pointed
salvation to the righteous, perdition to the wicked—this
is
the great truth, with which the sacred bards grapple amid
whatever
painful experiences of life apparently indicate the re-
verse.
The supposition is also favoured, or rather seems to be
demanded,
by the circumstance, that the Psalm has no super-
PSALM I. 5
scription.
As from Psalm third a long series of Psalms follows,
with
titles ascribing them to David, it cannot be doubted that
the
collectors intended to open the collection therewith. So that
there
must have been a particular reason for making our Psalm
an
exception from the general rule, and it is scarcely possible
to
imagine any other than the one already mentioned.
It is justly remarked, however, by
Koester, that the suppo-
sition
in question by no means requires us to hold that the
Psalm
is a late production, and probably composed by the col-
lector
himself. The simplicity and freshness which characterize
it
are against this. That it must have been composed, at any
rate,
before Jeremiah, is evident from his imitation of it. A
more
determinate conclusion regarding the time of its composi-
tion,
can only, since the Psalm itself furnishes no data, be de-
rived
from ascertaining its relation to Psalm second.
It has often been maintained, that
the two Psalms form but
one
whole,1 and this opinion has exercised considerable influence
upon
various manuscripts (De Rossi mentions seven, and even
Origen
in his Hexapla by Montfaucon, p. 475, speaks of having
seen
one in his day). But this view is obviously untenable.
Each
of the Psalms forms a separate and complete whole by
itself.
Still, several appearances present themselves, which cer-
tainly
point to a close relation between the two. First of all,
there
is the remarkable circumstance, that Psalm second stands
in
this place, at the head of a collection, to which, properly, only
such
Psalms belonged as bore the name of David in their super-
scription.
We can hardly explain this by any other reason than
its
inseparable connection with the first Psalm, which being
placed,
for the reason above given, at the commencement, re-
quired
the second to follow immediately after. There is, further,
a
certain outward resemblance between them: the number of
verses
in Psalm second is precisely the double of those in the
first;
and in both Psalms there is a marked and singularly
regular
construction of strophes, the first Psalm falling into
three
strophes of two verses, and the second into four strophes
of
three. In regard to the subject, the first is admirably fitted
to
be an introduction to the second, for which it lays a general
foundation.
What is said in the first Psalm generally,
of the
different
taste and destiny of the righteous and the wicked, the
1 See the opinions of the Jews and
the Fathers in Wetstein, on Acts
xiii.
33.
6 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
second
repeats with a special application to the Messiah and His
adversaries.
The first Psalm closed with the announcement of
judgment
against the wicked, and at that point the second
begins.
On the other hand, the latter Psalm concludes with a
benediction,
as the former had commenced with it—compare
"blessed
is the man," with "blessed are all they that put their
trust
in Him." The expression in Psalm ii. 12, "Ye shall perish
in
your way," remarkably coincides with that in Psalm i. 6,
"The
way of the ungodly shall perish." Finally, the words,
"The
nations meditate vain things" in Psalm second, acquire
additional
force, if viewed as a contrast to the meditation of the
righteous
on the law of the Lord, mentioned in the first Psalm.
These circumstances are by no means
satisfactorily ex-
plained
and accounted for, on the supposition that the collector
had
joined the second Psalm to the first, from certain points of
connection
happening to exist between them; and nothing
remains
for us but the conclusion, that both Psalms were com-
posed
by the same author, and were meant by him as different
parts
of one whole. This conclusion may be the more readily
embraced,
as we have elsewhere undoubted specimens of such
pairs
of Psalms (as Psalm ix. and x, xiv. and xv, xlii.
and xliii.),
and
as similar things are not awanting in Christian poets, for
example,
Richter's two poems, "It is not difficult to be a Chris-
tian,"
and "It is hard to be a Christian."
Now, as there are important grounds
for ascribing the
second
Psalm to David, we should be entitled to regard him as
the
author also of the first; nor can any solid objection be
urged
against this conclusion. In its noble simplicity, its quiet
but
still extremely spirited character, it presents a close resem-
blance
to other Psalms, of which David was unquestionably the
penman,
and in particular to the xv. xxiii. viii. Psalms.
Ver. I. Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the
ungodly, and stands not
in the way of sinners, and sits not in the
seat of the scornful. That the righteous
should first be de-
scribed
negatively, has its ground in the proneness of human
nature
to what is evil. From the same ground arises the pre-
dominantly
negative form of the decalogue. As there the
thought
of something, to which our corrupt heart is inclined,
is
everywhere forced on our notice, so also is it here. hcf never
signifies
what Stier and Hitzig here understand by it, disposi-
tion, spirit, but always counsel,
as in Job xxi. 16, xxii. 18.
PSALM
"The
counsel of a man" signifies, in some passages, the counsel
given
by him; for the most part, however, it is the counsel
which
he adopts himself—his plans and resolutions. This lat-
ter
is invariably the meaning of the expression, "to walk in
any
one's counsel," which uniformly means, "to adopt his
plans,
to share the same designs,"—comp. 2 Chron. xxii. 5,
where
"walked after their counsel," corresponds to, "he walked
in
the ways of the house of Ahab," ver. 3, and "he did evil in
the
sight of the Lord like the house of Ahab," ver. 4; only with
this
distinction, indicated by the "also" in ver. 5, and the clause
following,
"and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab to war,"
that
while there a general agreement in thought and action is
spoken
of, here it is referred to particular plans and undertak-.
ings.
In Micah vi. 16, to "walk in one's counsels," is taken
as
parallel with "observing one's statutes and doing one's
works."
In Psalm lxxxi. 12, "they walked in their own coun-
sels,"
means, they walked in the counsels they themselves took,
in
the plans they themselves devised. Consequently, the expo-
sition
of Gesenius and others, who render the first clause of our
Psalm:
"who lives not according to the counsels of the un-
godly,"
must be abandoned, and this the rather, that in what
follows,
the discourse is not of a dependence upon the influence
of
the wicked, but of one's personally belonging to them. To
walk
in the counsel of the wicked, is to occupy oneself with
their
purposes, their worthless projects.
Olshausen, in his emendations on the
Old Testament, would
read
tdf
for tcf,
"in the company or band of the ungodly."
He
appeals to the strong parallelism, which the author of this
Psalm
employs, and, indeed, pre-eminently in this first verse.
The
parallels here fall into three members: who walks not,
stands
not, sits not. In each member there is a preterite, as
predicate,
with the preposition b following it, a noun as its com-
plement,
and a completely appropriate dependent genitive.
Two
of the nouns which serve to limit the preposition, to wit,
way and seat, may be local designations, as then
they would
most
fitly accord with the sense of the particular verbs. In the
first
noun alone, no such local designation is to be found.
Rightly
viewed, the word tcf has of course this meaning. The
proposed
change is certainly needed to make out this significa-
tion.
For the counsel undoubtedly refers to
the spiritual by-
way,
into which he wanders, who follows it. But the second
8 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
term,
the way of sinners, must also be
spiritually understood.
To
speak of standing in their way can only refer to their man-
ner
of acting,—to follow with them the same moral paths, or
to
act like them. bwvm, "the seat,"
is the only term that im-
plies
an external locality. The difference is, however, of little
moment,
since here also the outward companionship comes into
view,
only as the result of an internal agreement. If we ex-
amine
the matter more closely, it will be found that the altera-
tion
proposed is not only quite unnecessary, but also unsuitable.
For
tdf,
is excluded on the very ground which Olshausen
presses
against tcf.
According to the analogy of jrdb and
bwvmb, the preposition b must admit of being
rendered by on;
it
must designate the sphere in which the conduct is exhibited.
Now,
the expression: "on the counsel," is quite suitable; but
the
expression: "on the company,"
is senseless.
According to the common acceptation,
bwvm
must mean here,
not
"seat," but "session." Of the few passages, however, which
are
brought forward in support of this meaning, Psalm cvii. 32,
so
far from requiring, does not even admit of it. If the transla-
tion
be adopted: "in the session (assembly) of the elders they
shall
praise Him," we must decide on adopting the perfectly
groundless
supposition, that the elders had instituted separate
meetings
for the praise of God, apart from the rest of the
people.
None but general religious assemblies
are known in
history.
If it be rendered: "upon the seat, or the bench of
the
elders," then everything will be in order; "they shall
extol
Him in the congregation of the people, and praise Him
on
the bench of the elders," namely, first the whole, and then
the
most distinguished part thereof. The only meaning which
is
certain, is here also quite suitable. To sit in the seat of
the
scorners, is, in other words, to sit as scorners, just as, in the
preceding
clauses, the discourse was of such as stood, not beside
sinners,
but among them, who not merely follow, but also cherish
for
themselves the counsels of ungodly men. Luther has given
the
meaning correctly: "nor sits where the scorners sit." It
is,
perhaps, not an accidental thing, that the attitude of sitting
is
distinctively ascribed to the scorners. A mocking disposition
unfolds
itself chiefly in the company of those who are like-
minded,
who are inflamed with wine and intoxicating drink,
which
we elsewhere find mentioned in connection with mockers,
—as
in Isa. v. and Prov. xx. 1, where wine itself is called a
PSALM
mocker.
So, in reference to social meetings, the act of sitting
is
frequently alluded to; for example, in Jer. xv. 17, "I sat
not
in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced;" in Psalm
1.
20, "Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother, thou slan-
derest
thine own mother's son;" Psalm lxix. 12, "They that sit
in
the gate speak against me, and I am the song of the drunk-
ards."
It is proper to add, however, that in Psalm xxvi. 4, 5,
sitting
is attributed to men of deceit, and evil-doers.
Cle (scorner), marks one
"who scoffs at God, His law and
ordinances,
His judgment and His people. In Prov. ix. 7, 8,
the
scorner is placed in opposition to the wise, whose heart is
filled
with holy reverence toward God and Divine things. In
opposition
to De Wette, who would here exclude the strictly
religious
scoffers, we can point to such passages as Isa. v. 19,
"They
say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we
may
see it; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw
nigh
and come, that we may know it;" Jer. xvii. 15, "Behold,
they
say unto me, Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come
now,"—where
the words of such scoffers are expressly given.
Religious
mockery is as old as the Fall. The admonition in
2
Peter iii. 3, regarding scoffers, as appears to me, has some re-
spect
to the passage before us.
Men have often sought to discover a
climax in the verse.
But
there is no foundation for this, either in the nouns or in
the
verbs. In reference to the former, it was already remarked
by
Venema, that "they distinguish men as exhibiting different
appearances,
rather than different grades of sin." The fwr,
from
fwr,
denotes in Arabic, magna cupiditate et concupiscentia
fuit,
and in Syriac, perturbatus es animo; hence it properly
signifies
"the passionate, the restless man" (Isa. lvii. 20, "The
wicked
are like the troubled sea, which cannot rest"); it is de-
scriptive
of the wicked, in respect to their internal state, their
violent
commotions within, the disquietude, springing from sin-
ful
desires, which constantly impels them to fresh misdeeds.
The
word MyxFH,
"sinners," designates the same persons in re-
spect
to the lengthened series of sinful acts which proceed from
them.
Finally, the word Mycl, "scornful," brings into view a
peculiarly
venomous operation and fruit of evil. But in the
verbs
we can the less conceive of a climactic gradation being
intended,
as Stier's assumption, that the middle verb dmf signi-
fies
not, to stand, but to continue, to persevere, destroys the
10 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
evidently
intentioned combination of the three bodily states of
waking
men. The verse simply declares in the most expressive
manner
possible, the absence of all fellowship with sin.
Ver. 2. The fellowship with
unrighteousness, which the
godly
man zealously shuns, is here placed in opposition to God
and
His law, which he zealously seeks. But
his delight is in the
law of the Lord, and in
His law he meditates day and night.
hrvt never has the general signification often
ascribed to it here
by
expositors—doctrine; but always the
more special sense of
law. That this is the
import here, is perfectly obvious from
a
comparison of the parallel passages, which show also, that the
law
meant here, is that, written, according to Psalm xl. 8, in
the
volume of the book or roll, called the law of Moses, which
is
always to be understood wherever the law is spoken of in the
Psalms.
The writer does not mean the natural
law spoken of
in
Isaiah xxiv. 5, and throughout the entire book of Job, and
which,
being darkened and disfigured by sin, could be but little
regarded
and seldom mentioned by those who walk in the clear
light
of revelation. These parallel passages are, Deut. vi. 6, 7,
where
Moses says to the people: "And these words, which I
command
thee this day, shall be in thine heart. And thou shalt
teach
them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them,"
etc.
(xi. 18 ff.); and Joshua i. 8, where the angel says to him:
"This
book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but
thou
shalt meditate therein clay and night, that thou mayest
observe
to do according to all that is written therein: for then
thou
shalt make thy way prosperous." This last manifestly
stands
in a very near relation to ours, not merely from the
meditation
spoken of, but also from the prosperity connected
with
it. Just as what the angel speaks to Joshua rests on the
ground
of those passages of the Pentateuch, and points to it
(comp.
also Deut. xvii. 19, which contains a like word of ex-
hortation
to the future king of
Psalm
points to the exhortation addressed to Joshua, who stood
forth
there as a worthy type of the fulfilment of what is here
required,
and in whose experience, the reward here promised
found
a sure guarantee for its realization. How De Wette
could
think that the love and study of the law being enjoined,
is
a proof of the later production of the Psalm, can scarcely be
imagined,
since a profound investigation into the nature of the
law,
the converting of it into juice and blood, might be proved
PSALM
by
many passages to have been even held by believers of the
Old
Testament, to be the highest end of their life. How much
David
fulfilled this condition, how intimate a knowledge he had
of
the law, even in its smallest particulars, and how constantly
it
formed the centre of his thoughts and feelings, the delight of
his
heart, will be placed beyond all doubt, by this exposition.
Indeed,
the fifteenth Psalm, which the dullest critic must ascribe
to
David, may serve, notwithstanding its limited compass, for
ample
proof; for it contains close and continued verbal re-
ferences
to the Pentateuch. Comp. also Psalm xix. Besides,
what
is here meant, is not that habit of speculating and laborious
trifling
upon the law which was quite foreign to the practical
turn
of the Old Testament saints, but a meditation referring
directly
to the walk and conduct. This follows, as is well re-
marked
by Claus, from the whole context, which is throughout
practical.
The subject in ver. 1 is, " fellowship with sin:" in
vers.
3-6, "the different portions of the righteous and the wicked."
How,
in such a connection, could ver. 2 refer to the theoretical
study
of the law, and not rather to the occupation of the heart
with
the subject and matter of the Divine Word? To this re-
sult
we are led also by a comparison of the parallel passages,
in
which the reading and meditating are expressly mentioned
as
means to the keeping and doing. Luther remarks on the
words,
"His delight is the law of the Lord:" "The prophet
does
not speak here of such an inclination, or liking as philo-
sophers
and modern theologians talk of, but of a simple and pure
pleasure
of heart, and a particular desire toward the law of
God,
which possesses him whom this Psalm pronounces blessed,
and
who neither seeks what the law promises, nor fears what it
threatens,
but feels that the law itself is a holy, righteous, and
good
thing. Therefore, it is not merely a love for the law, but
such
a sweet pleasure and delight in it, as the world and its
princes
can neither prevent nor take away by prosperous or
adverse
circumstances, nay, which shines triumphantly forth
through
poverty, reproach, the cross, death, and hell; for such
desire
shows itself the most in necessities and distresses, in ad-
versity
and persecution. Now from all this it seems manifest,
that
this Psalm (unless it should be understood of Christ alone)
is
nothing else than a mirror and goal, toward which a truly
pious
and blessed man must strive and labour; for in this life
there
is no one, who is not conscious of lacking to some extent
12 THE BOOK OP PSALMS.
this
delight in the law of the Lord, by reason of the lust and the
law in his members, which
decidedly and wholly oppose this
law
of God; as
I
delight in the law of God after the inward man; but I see
another
law in my members, warring against the law of my
mind,
and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is
in
my members."
It is a great thing, therefore, to
have one's delight in the
law
of the Lord. The natural man, even when the conscious-
ness
of the holiness of the law is awakened in him, and he
anxiously
strives to satisfy it, never gets beyond the region of
fear.
Even the regenerate, although delight in the law pre-
dominates
in them, yet have constantly to struggle with their
sinful
propensities. Perfect delight in the law presupposes a
perfect
union of the human with the Divine will, perfect ex-
tirpation
of sin—for the measure of sin is the measure of dis-
like
to the law—perfect holiness. And since this is not to be
found
in the present life, what man can complain if he does not
experience
a perfect fulfilment of the saying, "Everything he
doeth
prospers?" Christ alone, who was the only righteous
one
on earth, could have laid claim to such a fulfilment: He,
however,
freely renounced it and bore the cross, when He might.
well
have sought to rejoice. Those who are compelled to suffer,
receive
a testimony that they are sinful; and the fact, that none
experience
uniform prosperity, is a declaration on the part of
God,
that there is sin still dwelling even in His saints.
On the "day and night," J.
H. Michaelis remarks: "Inde-
fesso
studio, ut cessante etiam actu, nunquam tamen cesset pins
affectus."
Instead of meditating, Luther has
speaking; but he
remarks
at the same time that "the speaking here meant, is
not
the mere utterance of the lips, which even hypocrites are
capable
of, but such speaking as labours to express in words the
feelings
of the heart." The construction with b, however (yet,
compare
rbd
with b in
Dent. vi. 7), and especially the mention
of
night, recommends the first
signification. Such meditation
day
and night, he only practises who, as Luther puts it, "has,
through
desire, become one cake with the word of God; as,
indeed,
love is used to reduce him who loves, and that which
is
loved, to one substance."—The construction of the hgh
with
b, implies, that the person who meditates, loses
himself in his
object.
PSALM
Ver. 3. And he is like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that brings fort -his
fruit in his season, and whose leaf does not
wither, and whatsoever
he does he prosperously executes. The v,
and, is not to be
translated for. For the verse does
not contain
the
reason, but the carrying out of the yrwx. The meaning
was
perceived quite correctly by Luther: "After the prophet
has
described, in vers. 1 and 2, the man who is blessed before
God,
and painted him in proper colours, he goes on here to de-
scribe
him still further, by means of a very beautiful image."
lf, by,
properly upon. A thing is said to be
upon one, if it
projects
over, or generally rises higher. Hence this preposi-
tion,
which in common use is rendered by,
beside, when the
discourse
is of a lower object, in juxtaposition with a higher,
is
very frequently employed in reference to streams, springs,
and
seas.—The comparison of a prosperous man to a tree
planted
beside a river, which is peculiarly appropriate in the
arid
regions of the East, occurs also in Jer. xvii. 8. There,
however,
it is only the imitation and further extension of our
passage.1
Nothing but the greatest prejudice could have in-
verted
the relation of these two passages to each other. The
sentence
in Jeremiah has all the appearance of a commentary
or
paraphrase. In Psalm xcii. 12, "The righteous shall flourish
like
the palm tree," the particular is put instead of the general.
With
the expression "in his season," compare that in Mark
xi.
13, "for it was not the time of figs." Most of the older ex-
positors
refer the words, "bringeth forth his fruit," of good
works;
but the connection shows, that fruitfulness here is con-