COMMENTARY
ON
THE
PSALMS
BY
E. W. HENGSTENBERG,
DR. AND PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY IN
VOLUME
II.
TRANSLATED
BY
THE REV. P. FAIRBAIRN,
MINISTER AT
SALTON;
AND
THE REV. J. THOMSON, A. M.,
MINISTER AT
LEITH.
T. & T. CLARK, 38.
SEELEY & CO.; WARD &
CO.; JACKSON & WALFORD, &C.
DUBLIN: JOHN ROBERTSON.
MDCCCXLVI: 1846
Digitized by Ted Hildebrandt,
ADVERTISEMENT.
OF this Second Volume of Hengstenberg
on the Psalms, the
first
part, reaching to the close of Ps. lix., has been translated by
Mr.
FAIRBA1RN, and the remainder by Mr. THOMSON. There is
little
more remaining of the original work, than will be required
for
the half of another volume, the author having as yet only
brought
it down to the end of Ps. cxix. But the Subscribers to
the
translation may rest assured, that when the continuation
appears,
no time will be lost in having another, and, it is hoped,
the
concluding volume, put into their hands. The Translators
again
repeat, as their former intimation appears, in some quar-
ters,
not to have been attended to, that the Hebrew points are
used
in the translation where they are used in the original, and
those,
who choose to complain of their not being constantly
employed,
should, in fairness, direct their complaint against
the
author. The Translators have only farther to add, that
they
are not to be understood as concurring in the peculiar
view
adopted by the author in regard to some of the Messianic
Psalms,
(in particular, Ps. xvi. xxii. and lxix.), by their not express-
ing
any formal dissent. The same remark may be made in re-
ference
to some incidental expressions, such as that at p. 439,
line
37, 38, of Vol. ii. The author has signified his intention
to
handle, in a few treatises, to be appended to the Commenta-
ry,
some of the more difficult points connected with the inter-
pretation
of the Psalms; and it is not improbable that the view
in
question will be there more fully opened up and explained.
They
deem it, therefore proper, in the meantime, to remain.
silent:
and possibly may do so to the last, even should they be
unable
to concur in the author's sentiments, unless these should
appear
to them to be inconsistent with correct views on the
inspiration
of Scripture.
ERRATA IN VOL. II.
In
page 275, 3d line from foot, for
support of the Psalmist, read
contents of the
Psalm.
279, line 16, delete from correspondence to
title, and read: agreement as to
the occasion on which
the Psalm was composed. Such, however,
has been the passion for
scepticism and arbitrary interpretation,
that even here a
monument in its favour must be erected.
279, last line, for in former times, read already.
282, 12,
for the, read this.
14, for they, read to.
287, 31,
for How the Spirit, &c., read The Psalmist virtually introduces
the verse thus: As the Spirit of God said by Balaam, In God
shall
we do valiantly.
288, 9,
for five, read four.
304, 9,
for readily, read really.
314, 22,
for thou, read who.
339, 32. The following note seems
needed to explain Hengstenberg's
brief allusion: Though Jehovah
was in itself the higher, the more
peculiar appellation,
yet when a spirit of idolatry spread among the
people, and they came to
look upon their God as only one of the
gods of the nations, so
that Jehovah, the peculiar God of Israel, came
to be = a God, then Jehovah really imported less
than Elohim.
337, last line, for augment, read
argument.
393, 39,
for connected with, read annexed to.
427, 28, for tyh, read tyH.
439, 26,
for people's, read peoples.
THE
BOOK OF PSALMS.
PSALM
XXXV.
THE
Psalmist vehemently complains of malicious and ungodly
enemies,
prays the Lord for deliverance, giving promise of
thanksgivings,
if his prayer was granted. The Psalm falls into
three
strophes, in each of which the three elements of complaint,
prayer,
and promise of thanksgiving, are contained, and which
are
especially remarkable on this account, that each of these
runs
out into the vow of thanksgiving, ver. 1-10; ver. 11-18;
ver.
19-28. The middle strophe, surrounded on each side by
two
decades, in which prayer predominates, is chiefly remark-
able
for an extended representation of the Psalmist's distress,
and
of the black ingratitude of his enemies, which calls aloud
for
the divine retribution.
The relations of David's time
manifestly form the ground of this
Psalm,
which was composed, according to the superscription, by
him.
A special ground may be found for it, in 1 Sam. xxiv. 15,
where
a declaration of David to Saul is recorded, "The Lord
therefore
be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see,
and
plead my cause, and deliver me out of thine hand,"—which
coincides
with the first verse of our Psalm in very characteristic
expressions.
Still, we are not to suppose, on this account, that
the
Psalm possesses an individual character: what at first sight
appears
to carry this aspect, is soon perceived, by an experiencd
judgment,
to be a mere individualizing. David speaks in the
person
of the righteous, with what view may the more easily be
understood,
since the truly Righteous One could appropriate this
Psalm
to himself, (John xv. 25, comp. with ver. 19 here,) an ap-
plication,
which led many of the older expositors to give the
1
2 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Psalm a too direct and exclusive
Messianic exposition, (comp.
on the other hand, Introd. to Psalm xxii.) An
accidental
synchronism between this Psalm and the immediately preceding
one, is indicated by the correspondence
presented by ver. 5 and
6 to the other, the more remarkable, as
these two Psalms are
the only ones, in which the Angel of the Lord, in a general way,
occurs. But in both he appears entirely in
the same character
and connection.
Ver.
1. Contend, 0 Lord, with my contenders, consume those
who consume me. In the first member, the relation of the right-
eous to his enemies, appears under the image
of a contest for
what is right, in the second, under the
image of a war. What
is expressed in the first member as a wish, is in Isa. xlix. 25, con-
verted into a promise, " I will contend
with him that contend-
eth with thee." But the wish here also
rises on the ground of
the promise. To beg any thing from God, which he had not
promised,
were a piece of folly. MHl, signifies, not to fight, but
to eat, and tx is
not prepos. but marks the accus. The mean-
ing of fighting first enters in
Niphil, prop. to be eaten, then to
be eaten by another. A destructive warfare
against the enemies
is not rarely represented as a consuming of these, comp. for ex-
ample, Numb. xxiv. 8, "He eats up
(consumes) the heathen,
and their bones will he break." Calvin: "The sum is, that,
overwhelmed with calumnies, and oppressed with cruelty, and
finding no help in the world, he commends his life, as well as his
good name, into the hand of God."
Ver. 2. Take
hold of shield and buckler, and stand up as my
help.
The Lord is represented under the image of a hero, who
equips himself for the deliverance of his oppressed friend. This
representation has its ground in human weakness. As dangers
palpable and manifest surround us, God's hidden and invisible
power is not of itself fitted to keep us from
all fear and anxiety.
It must in a manner take to itself flesh and
blood. It usually
borrows its dress from the danger, which at
the time is threat
ened. In opposition to the acts of lying and
calumny, God is set
up as patron or administrator, who takes
charge of the affairs
of his people. If danger is threatened from
rude violence, he
appears as a warrior, as in Deut. xxxii. 41, 42, who lays hold of
weapons for the defence of his own. In this
verse the Psalmist
calls upon the Lord to take weapons of
defence, in the next
weapons of offence. Ngm is the small shield, and hnc the great
PSALM XXXV. VER. 3-5. 3
one,
as appears from 1 Kings x. 16, 17. ytrzfb prop. in my
help,
b
is that which marks in what property any thing appears
or
consists, Ew. Small Gr. § 521. Help
is elsewhere also not
rarely
used by David for helper, comp. for
example, Psalm xxvii.
9.
Ver. 3. And take hold of the spear, and set a barrier against
my persecutors; say to my
soul: thy salvation am I. qvr in
Hiph.
to empty, then to take out, namely, from the armoury.
In
the expression: set a barrier, prop. close up against my per-
secutor,
the figure is borrowed from a host, Which comes to the
help
of its confederates, when threatened with a surprisal by the
enemy,
and, by throwing itself between them and the enemy,
cuts
off from the latter a retreat. It appears, that we have here
before
us a military term of art, such as was quite suitable in.
the
mouth of the warrior David, and as has already occurred in
ver.
1 and 2. We are not to supply some definite noun, such
as
way. Close up, rather imports as much
as, make a close.
txrql, against, in military connection, for
example, Deut. i.
44,
Jos. viii. 14, is carefully to be distinguished from ynpl.
Against
my persecutors, in that thou dost oppose a barrier to
them,
dost therewith meet them. Many take rgs as a noun=
sa<garij, a kind of battle-axe.
But this exposition forsakes the
Hebrew
usage, in which the verb rgs has the signification of
closing
up, the noun rvgs that of barricade; it has against it
the
authority of all the old translations, and is also deserving of
rejection
from the very form, as nouns of the kind almost with-
out
exception have the v. In the second member, the Psalmist
is
thought by many to wish for an audible communication. But,
according
to the connection, the speech is rather one embodied
in
fact. Comp. the first member and ver. 4. God has to speak
comfort
to the endangered and troubled soul of the Psalmist by
the
communication of help. The expression: to my soul, is used,
as
ver. 4 shows, because his soul found itself in danger, because
his
enemies consulted about taking his life.
Ver. 4. Let them be confounded and put to shame, who seek
after my soul, let them
be turned back and brought to confusion,
who devise my hurt. That the fut. are to be
taken optatively,
that
the Psalmist does not express hope and confidence, but as
in
verse 1-3, prays, appears from the yhy, in ver. 6. Ver. 5.
Let them be as chaff
before the wind, and let the angel of the
Lord thrust them. Comp. in regard to the
angel of the Lord,
4 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Ps.
xxxiv. 7. hHd
signifies only to thrust, knock down, never to
drive,
or to drive away. On their eager flight the angel of the
Lord
lays hold of them and throws them to the ground so that
they
can never rise up again. Comp. on Ps. xxxvi. 12. We are
not
to supply to hHd the suffix, but the participle enters into
the
place of the noun; prop. let the angel of the Lord be their
pusher.
Ver. 6. Let their way be dark and
slippery, and let
the angel of the Lord
persecute them. The
putting of the sub-
stantives
darkness and slipperiness, for the
adj. gives more
strength.
Whosoever is pursued by a powerful enemy upon a
dark
and slippery path, which necessarily retards the speed of
his
flight, he is given up to sure destruction. Ver. 7. For
without cause they have
hid for me their pit-net, without cause
they have made a pit for
my soul.
The ground is here laid for
the
wish expressed in the preceding verse, guaranteeing the
certainty
of its fulfilment. The pit-net is a pit covered with a
net.
The image is derived from the hunting of wild beasts,
which
are caught in such pit-nets, covered over with twigs and
earth.
We are not exactly to supply tHw to vrpH, but to dig,
stands
for, to make a pit. Ver. 8. Let
destruction come upon
him unawares, and his
net, which he has concealed, let it catch
him, for destruction let
him fall therein.
The singular refers
here,
as in all similar cases, to the ideal person of the wicked.
The
expression: he knows not, stands often for, unexpectedly,
suddenly.
As they had surprised the righteous in the midst of
his
peace, so might perdition again overtake them in the midst
of
their security. hxvw is prop. part. of the verb hxw, to rush
together,
and denotes, not destruction in the active sense, but
the
ruin. This signification is here also demanded by the last
member,
where hxvwb
marks the circumstances, under which
the
fall takes place. His falling into the net is a thing connected
with
the entire ruin, as is said in Ps. xxxvi. 12, "They fall and
are
not able to rise up again," Ps. xxxiv. 21, "Evil slays the
wicked."
The hxvwb
distinguishes the evil impending over
the
enemies from what had already befallen the Psalmist. Ver.
9.
So will my soul be joyful in the Lord; it
shall rejoice in his
salvation.
Ver. 10. All my bones shall say: Lord who is like thee, who
deliverest the poor from
him that is too strong for him, and the
poor and needy from his
spoiler.
The futures are not to be taken
optat.
as Luther: "My soul might rejoice," etc. Neither do
PSALM XXXV. VER.
10-13. 5
they
contain the expression of the Psalmist's hope; but he seeks
to
make the Lord inclined to grant the desired help, by declar-
ing
that it would not be lavished on an ungrateful person, and
that,
like seed, the help afforded would yield a rich harvest of
praise
and thanksgivings. The bones mark the
innermost nature.
The second strophe follows with
preponderating lamentation.
The
design of the representation given of the malice of the
enemies
in ver. 11-16, discovers itself in the words in ver 17,
"Lord,
how long wilt thou look on, rescue my soul from their
destructions,
mine only one from the lions," for which a prepa-
ration
and a motive were provided by the representation. After
the
prayer there follows again, in ver. 18, the promise of a thanks-
giving,
implying that the granting of what he sought would tend
to
the glorification of the name of God.
Ver. 11. Malicious witnesses rise up, what I know not of, that
do they inquire of me, they wish me to
express an acknowledg-
ment
of misdeeds of which I have been quite innocent. The
verse
is neither to be explained historically, nor to be taken
figuratively,
but contains an individualizing trait, such as very
frequently
occurs in the Psalms, which were sung of the person
of
the righteous. Ver. 12. They rewarded me
evil for good,
bereavement of my soul. We are not to render:
Bereavement is
to
my soul; but the lvkw is the accus. governed by: they re-
warded.
For according to the connection, the bereavement of
the
Psalmist comes here into consideration, only in so far as it
was
caused by his enemies. In the following verse, which is
merely
an expansion of this, he brings out the fact, that he had
manifested
as tender a love to those who were now his enemies,
as
is wont to be shewn to none but the nearest relatives. In
testimony
of their gratitude and praise for this, they transplant
him
into a condition, as if he were entirely alone upon the wide
world.
They themselves attack him with wild hatred, comp.
ver.
15, 16, and deprive him also of the fellowship of all others.
Ver.
13. And I, when they were sick, put on
sackcloth, hurt my-
self with fasting, and
my prayer returned back to my own bosom.
The
sickness here is not figurative, but an individualizing mark
of
the suffering. One must, in severe sufferings, discerning
therein
the righteous punishment of sin, find matter for re-
pentance,
and practise fasting as an exercise of repentance.
(The
form of expression vwpn hnf, to chastise his soul, to cru-
cify
his flesh, comp. the profound explanation in. Isa. lviii, is
6 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
taken
from the law, in which Mvc, indicating the form, is still
not
found.) Whoever acts thus at the sufferings of others, gives
thereby
a proof of the most tender fellowship and love, which
destroys
in a manner the distinction between I and thou, regards
the
suffering and the guilt of another as its own. Here also we
are
not to think of a figurative, but only an individualizing re-
presentation.
The most tender fellowship has also, in certain
circumstances,
been realized under this form. The last words
receive
explanation from what is said in 1 Kings xviii. 42, upon
the
posture of Elias in prayer. He, who prays with his head
bent
down, appears to bring the prayer back, as it were, to the
bosom
from which it proceeded. Clauss: "We must think espe-
cially
of the sitting or standing posture of mourners overwhelmed
with
great affliction; this is the natural bodily expression of a
depressed
state, afflictive both in itself and from its attendant
pain."
We reject the exposition of Luther and others: I prayed
from
the heart continually, prop. my prayer returned out of (?)
my
bosom; and also that of many Jews, revived by Sachs: My
prayer
might (?) turn into my bosom, receive its fulfilment in
myself,
so full of love was it. Ver. 14. As if he
were a friend,
as if he were a brother,
I went along; as one who mourns for
his mother, was I in
dirtiness bowed down.
The words: as a
friend,
as a brother to me, for: as I would have done to a friend,
nay
to a brother, is to be explained from the circumstance, that
the
comparison is often barely indicated. We are not to think
in
such cases of supplying something grammatically. The ex-
pression:
I went about, refers, as the context shews, to the
outward
appearance. lb,xE is stat. constr. of
adj. lbexA,
mourn-
ing.
rdq,
to be dirty, which is arbitrarily limited by many to
the
clothing, refers to the whole appearance, to the countenance
also
unwashed, and covered with ashes, and indicates, so far as
it
points to the dress, not black clothing, but dirty, (from the
sitting
in dust and ashes.) hHw, to bow down, is not to
be
understood
tropically, but according to the context, which
speaks
throughout of the external symptoms of pain, of the
bodily
stooping of mourners. In the whole verse we must keep
in
our eye the symbolical spirit of the East, especially of ancient
times;
when the feelings so readily draw after them their out-
ward
indication, the mourner sits in sackcloth and ashes, while
he,
who receives a joyful message, puts on fine clothing and
anoints
himself. On account of this common imitation of the
PSALM XXXV. VER. 15. 7
internal
by the external, the latter only is very often expressed
in
poetry, where, in point of fact, the internal is meant. This,
and
not the other, is the more to be regarded here, as it is not
a
historical, but an ideal person that speaks; as is implied
also
in
the matter of this and the preceding verse. If referred to a
historical
person, the representation has the character of some-
strained
and unnatural.
Ver. 15. And now at my trouble they rejoice, and gather
themselves, gather
themselves against me the abjects, whom I know
not, they tear and are
not silent.
The ver. forms the expansion
of
the "bereavement of my soul," in ver. 12. The Psalmist had
shown
to his enemies in their misfortune the most affectionate
sympathy;
their pain was his pain. But now, in his
misfortune,
his
pain is their joy; they hasten in dense crowds to insult him,
and
throw him still deeper into misery, and this is the more
sensibly
felt by him, as in the company that thus assembled
against
him, there were found some of the most despicable of
men.
yflcb,
prop. in my halting. The halting, as a state of
bodily
restraint and weakness, stands here for a mark of wretch-
edness,
as in Ps. xxxviii. 17. Mykn is the plural of hk,ne smit-
ten,
synonymous with hk;nA, both alike from hkn, to be smitten.
The
smitten are men of the lowest grade, the poorest. This
also
discovers itself in the very next note: and I knew not,
for
whom I knew not, who from their peculiarly low condition,
were
shut out from the circle of my acquaintance. No one
could
have deviated from the correct exposition, if he had only
attended
to the remarkably exact parallel passage in Job xxx.
1,
ss. Job there complains, that he had become the object of
attacks
and insults from those, whose fathers he would have
disdained
to set beside the dogs of his flock, who in their
want
and wretchedness sought such miserable support as
the
wilderness could afford them, who were the very quint-
essence
of what was low and common. To the Mykn here,
corresponds
there Crxh Nm vxkn, they are beaten out of the
land,
in ver. 8. The current exposition: beating with the
tongue,
i. e. calumniating, comp. Jer. xviii. 18, is untenable,
because
against the signification of the root, (hkn first ob-
tains
in Hiph. an active signification,) and against the signi-
fication
of the analogous formations, it takes the word in an
active
sense, and because it does not comport with the other
8 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
part
of the description: whom I knew not. The latter ground
also
holds against Hitzig's exposition: fools, derived from j`n
not
occurring in Hebrew; which besides destroys the manifestly
existing
connection with the forms hkenA, and xkenA. We pass
over
other still more arbitrary expositions, as that of Luther: the
halting
plot against me without my fault. It
may still be asked
whether
the beaten, those beaten with strokes, are the same
who
had been discoursed of in ver. 13 and 14; or more correct-
ly,
whether they belong to their number; or whether the Psal-
mist
here, as Calvin supposes, joins to his earlier acquaintances,
who
recompensed him evil for good, the multitude of those
who,
at an earlier period, were quite unknown to him, glad at
having
an opportunity to vent their malice on him. The first
supposition
is the correct one. For the latter would not come
within
the aim of the Psalmist, who gives here a farther exten-
sion
of the declaration: they recompensed me evil for good, on
which
he had grounded his prayer to the Lord for the punish-
ment
of his enemies. On the other hand, the words: whom I
knew
not, are not to be regarded as contradictory. For this
is
only a mark of the poorest condition, which would natu-
rally
have excluded these men from the Psalmist's circle, had
not
love and compassion impelled him to let himself down to
them,
and to act towards them a friendly and brotherly part.—
fvq, to tear, most expositors, without foundation,
take in the
sense
of reviling. The image is taken from a garment, from
which
any one seeks to tear away a fragment. By their not
being
silent, is meant their constantly raving against him with
words
and deeds.
Ver. 16. The vile, who mock for a cake, gnash against me
with the teeth. The expression, which
in both members con-
tains
a separate clause, is very concise, the affection, which here
is
indignation, loving brevity. In the first member the verb is
wanting,
they act, or they conduct themselves; in the second
member,
the infin. absol. stands for the 3d pl. In the first
member
the Psalmist, in order to bring out more pointedly the
worthlessness
of his enemies, describes them as persons who
only
aimed, through their bitter hostilities, to ingratiate them-
selves
with a great personage, the centre of the whole opposi-
tion,
in order to obtain from him the means of allaying their
hunger,
of prolonging their miserable existence. With such
creatures,
David may have had enough to do in the time
PSALM XXXV. VER. 16-28. 9
of
the Sauline persecution. ypnHb, prop. in the vile, for as
the
vile, comp. Ew. Small Gr. § 521. Vile persons of the
mockeries
of the cake, are vile persons, to whom the mock-
which
most expositors suppose here, has no existence, not even
in
Isa. xxviii. 11. Mockeries of the cake are mockeries, which
are
so far connected with it that they are thrown out for its
sake,
in order to obtain it. The enemies appear, in perfect ac-
cordance
with the description in the preceding verse, and that
in
Job xxx., as mean and base men, who sell their tongues to
railleries
for a piece of bread. Of "guests," and "parasites,"
and
"roast-smell-flatterers," there is no mention. gvfm is not
cake,
as a sort of dainty bit, but the common cake of the ashes,
which
in the East stands in the room of bread. Neither are we
to
think of witty speeches which were uttered at the table, but
of
bitter mocking, which men indulge toward the object of their
master's
hatred, like hounds set on by him. This is clear, partly
from
the word itself, and partly from the parallel: They gnash,
&c.
The gnashing of the teeth, for which expositors, who mis-
take
the sense, substitute "showing of the teeth," is always an
expression
of indignation, which the persons here referred to
employ
with all vehemence, in order to render themselves much
endeared
to their master. vmynw, as to their teeth, or with the
same.
Comp. on Psal. 4.—Ver. 17. Lord how long
wilt
thou look on? rescue my
soul from their desolations, from the
young lions my only one. bywh stands in its common
meaning.
The
soul is in a mournful, dangerous place, surrounded by their
devastations
and by lions. The Lord must bring it away from
thence.
The a[p. leg. xOw, desolations. For my
only one, see
on
Ps. xxii. 20.—Ver. 18. So will I praise
thee in the great
congregation, and among
much people will extoll thee. Comp.
on
ver. 9 and 10, and on Ps. xxii. 22, 25.
We come now to the third strophe,
ver. 19-28, chiefly made
up
of prayer, which has been solidly founded by the representa-
tion
given in the second strophe of the Psalmist's relations. Ver.
19.
Let not them that are my enemies falsely
rejoice over me, nor
wink with the eye, who
hate me without a cause. Enemies with
falsehood
or lies, are such as forge lying accusations against the
object
of their malice, with the view of giving a fair colour to it.
Nyf Crq prop. to press the eye together, here of
the winking to
10 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
one
another with the eye, by which the enemies, who were sworn
for
the Psalmist's destruction, gave each other joy concerning it.
This
they do even now, because they reckoned themselves quite
sure
of their object, comp. ver. 21, but God might embitter their
joy
to them.—Ver. 20. For they speak not
peace, and against
the quiet in the land they
devise words of deceit. The expression:
they
speak not peace, for: they abolish it, is used by way of con-
trast
to what they ought to do, and points to the relations of
Saul's
time. Saul's distrust receives continually fresh nourish-
ment
from such tale-bearers. fgr quiet, peaceful.—Ver. 21. And
they open their mouth
wide against me, and say, there, there, our
eye sees, namely, the wish of
our soul, the misfortune of the
righteous.
Ver. 22. Yea, thou seest, Lord; keep not
silence, Lord
be not far from me. Ver. 20, 21, gave the
reason for ver. 19. Let
them
not rejoice, for they, the wicked, deserve not thy help; but
thy
might, and their triumphing over the success of their plans,
is
for thee a call to interfere. And here a new prayer arises out
of
the reason given for the preceding prayer. The Psalmist
places
the seeing of God over against the malicious seeing of the
enemy.
Ver. 23. Stir up thyself and awake to my
judgment, my
God and Lord, to my
cause.
Ver. 24. Judge me according to thy
righteousness, 0 Lord,
my God, and let them not rejoice over
me. Ver. 25. Let them not say in their hearts: there,
there, so
would we have it! Let
them not say: We have swallowed him
up. vnwpn
prop. our
soul, for, our wish, because their soul
went
entirely out into the wish. Ver. 26. Let
them be ashamed
and blush together, who
rejoice at my hurt; let them be clothed
with shame and
dishonour, who magnify themselves against me.
Ver.
27. Let them make jubilee and rejoice who
wish my justi-
fication, and say
continually: Great is the Lord who wills the
peace of his servant. Make jubilee, the Lord
will give them oc-
casion
for it. qdc,
in opposition to hfr, misfortune, in ver.
26,
and parallel to the peace, marks not the righteous cause, but
righteousness
as the gift of God; q. d. they wish,
that I may
be
actually justified by God. Ver. 28. So
will my tongue speak
of thy righteousness,
proclaim continually thy praise. The ex-
pression:
thy righteousness, has respect to: my righteousness,
in
ver. 27. God's righteousness and the Psalmist's justification
stand
in the closest connection with each other.
PSALM XXXVI. 11
PSALM XXXVI.
IN the conflict, which is so apt to
arise against the people of
God
from the depth and magnitude of human corruption, the
Psalmist
addresses himself, "Be thou at peace, and rest in the
God
of thy life." After a superscription, which indicates, that
he
speaks not from himself and for himself, but in the name and
service
of God, and consequently for the church, he first de-
scribes
in ver. 1-4, the conflict, as one that seems to prepare
hopeless
destruction for the righteous, and fills him with painful
solicitude.
He paints in strong features the intensity of human
corruption.
The heart of the wicked is free from all fear of
God,
and every thought of the avenging righteousness of God
is
choked. Hence, the words of his mouth are wickedness and
deceit,
and in his actions he gives scope to himself in every
thing:
nothing is too bad for him. This representation of the
necessity
and the danger is followed in ver. 5-9, by a repre-
sentation
of the consolation. God with his inexhaustible fulness
of
love, faithfulness, and righteousness, appears in opposition to
man
and his wickedness. This line of reflection is followed in
ver.
10-12, by the prayer and the expression of confidence in
its
fulfilment: God's love and righteousness can and will unfold
themselves
in his dealings towards his own, in the support he
administers
to them, and the overthrow he brings upon the
wicked.
If we draw the superscription into
the compass of the Psalm,
which
we are here peculiarly warranted to do, the meditation
will
complete itself in the number ten, which again falls into
two
fives. The prayer and confidence rising on the ground of
the
Mosaic blessing, is ruled by the number three.
The Psalm is as to its subject
nearly allied to Ps. xi. and xiv.
with
whose introduction that of this holds a close resemblance
even
in expression. Of any particular occasion we are not to
think.
The Psalmist speaks for the fearers of God, and in their
name.
Already does Luther remark in his summaries: this is a
didactic
Psalm.
In the superscription: To the chief musician, of time servant
of the Lord, David, the designation of
"servant of the Lord"
is
the more deserving of notice, as it occurs only once in the
superscriptions
besides, in Ps. xviii. where it bears a manifest
12 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
reference
to the subject, and as it stands in unquestionable con-
nection
with the beginning of the Psalm. Like the correspond-
ing
words in 2 Sam. xxiii. "The man who was raised up on
high,
the anointed of the God of Jacob," it points to the dignity
of
the person in so far as in that was given a security for the im-
portance
of the word: the servant of the Lord speaks not his
own
word, but God's, not of his own will, but as moved by the
Holy
Spirit, 2 Pet. i. 21. “The spirit of the Lord spake through
him,
and his word was upon his tongue,” 2 Sam. xxiii. 2. The
suggestion
of impiety in the wicked, that God is nothing upon
earth,
is met by the suggestion of God in his servant, that God
is
every thing upon earth.
Ver. 1. "The oracle of transgression to me, the wicked within
my heart;" there is
no fear of God before his eyes. In the first
member
the Psalmist introduces the wicked as speaking. He
would
express the thought, that the wicked listens to the sug-
gestions
of sin as words of God. This thought he clothes in such
a
manner, that, by an ironical imitation of the introductory words
in
the writings of the prophets, in particular Balaam's in Numb.
xxiv.
3, to which he also referred in 2 Sam. xxiii. 1, he makes
the
ungodly bring in a decree of his God, of wickedness. There
should
properly have followed the divine sentence, according to
Ps.
xiv. 1; "There is no God;" or Ps. x. 11. "God hath for-
gotten,
he hideth his face, he will never see." But here the
Psalmist
leaves the reader to supply the substance of the speech
from
the second member; he seeks only to have it first distinctly
impressed,
that the wicked regards as oracles the suggestions of
sin,
what it dictates in regard to religion. Mxn signifies, not a
word
in general, but a divine word, an oracle. fwp occupies
here
the place of Jehovah. The expression: to the wicked, cor-
responds
to: of the servant of God, as the Psalmist had just de-
signated
himself; or to: the hearer of the divine word, etc. in
Balaam.
Here, as the prophets in their introductions, as Balaam
and
as David both here and in 2 Sam. xviii. 1, the wicked speaks
of
himself in the third person; while presently the Psalmist
speaks
in the first: in the middle of my heart, as also Balaam,
and
David in 2 Sam. xviii. But there is no difficulty in this;
for:
to the wicked, is in substance the same as: to me, the
wicked.
By this remark the quite erroneous reference of the
expression:
within my heart, to the Psalmist, is set aside;
against
which also the parallel passage in Ps. xiv. 1.
"The fool
PSALM XXXV. VER. I 13
hath
said in his heart, there is no God," and the similar expres-
sions
in Ps. x. 6, 11, are decisive. We thus also cut off all temp-
tation
to read vbl
his heart, instead of ybl, by which, indeed,
nothing
is gained; for there should then be no indication of the
wicked
being introduced here as speaking, which is still plainly
needed.
After the example of Luther, who renders: it is spoken
from
the bottom of my heart of the ungodly, the meaning of
this
first member is entirely misapprehended by many exposi-
tors,
for ex. by De Wette: A speech of the wickedness of
transgression
is to me in the heart. This exposition discovers
itself
to be false, in whatever direction we look. Its condem-
nation
is already pronounced in De Wette's own remark: "The
first
half of the verse is a kind of announcement, though only
of
a part of the subject, and by a deficiency in the parallelism
the
second half passes on immediately to the subject." The
real
subject of the Psalm is not, "the wickedness of transgres-
sion,"
but, "If God is thy friend and thy cause, what can
thine
enemy, man, do of any consequence?" It is precisely in
the
first part, in which the Psalmist merely represents, what
passes
before his eyes, and what might easily be discerned with-
out
any divine revelation, that the Mxn is not suitable. The
parallelism
is by this exposition completely destroyed, and the
expression:
there is no fear of God before his eyes, has a bald
appearance,
considered as a commencement, and sounds feeble.
Further,
this exposition takes fwp as the object of the speech:
Speech
of transgression. But the genitive, which follows the
very
frequently occurring Mxn without exception marks always
the
speaker, and, indeed, for the most part, the heavenly author
of
the declaration, the human only in
Numb. xxiv. 3, Prov. xxx.
1,
and 2 Sam. xxiii. 1, which bears respect to this. This reason
of
itself is perfectly decisive. In Isa. v. 1, also, in the phrase
ydvd tryw, to which De Wette refers as analogous,
the geni-
tive
is that of the author; not concerning my beloved, but of
my
beloved; the song, which is consecrated to the beloved,
which
is sung to his honour, which has himself, speaking through
the
mouth of his prophet, for its author. Then, the exposition
ungrammatically
takes fwrl
as a circumlocution for the geni-
tive,
which can only be put in this way, when the scat. constr.
is
inadmissible, as it would be here, if the meaning were: a
transgression
of the wicked, but which would not be suitable,
comp.
Ew. Small Gr. § 517. The expression: in the midst of
14 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
my
heart, which is full of meaning in our exposition: in the in-
most
depth of the wicked, utters forth transgression its oracle,
becomes
by this exposition quite flat and insignificant, and is
never
found in such a connection. It is torn away from the
already
quoted parallel pass. Ps. xiv. 1, etc., which so ob-
viously
correspond, also torn from the eyes
here, in ver. 1 and 2,
and
from the mouth in ver. 3. Finally,
this exposition leaves en-
tirely
out of view the manifest reference to the superscription of
the
prophecies, and the parallel passage 2 Sam. xxiii. 1, as also
the
reference to the superscription here. The oracle of sin to the
wicked
stands opposed to the oracle of Jehovah to the servant
of
Jehovah, David, as it is communicated in this Psalm. It is
hoped
this lengthened statement of objections against the cur-
rent
exposition may serve the purpose of entirely setting it
aside,
the more so, as the faults hitherto cleaving to the others
are
removed by our construction. Whenever we perceive the
ground-thought
of the first member, and separate that from the
clothing
under which it is presented, there is seen to be a per-
fect
parallel between the first and the second; the heart of the
wicked
is full of the God-denying suggestions of sin, before his
eyes
is no fear of God, q. d. the fear of
God is not that, on
which
he directs his eye in his transactions, or by which he is
moved
in them, comp. Ps. xxvi. 3.
Ver. 2. For he flatters himself in his eyes in reference to the
finding of his sin, the
hating.
The ground is here given, on
account
of which the fear of God exercises no determinate in-
fluence
upon the actions of the wicked. He seeks through all
sorts
of illusions to stifle the conviction, that God's avenging
righteousness
will punish his impiety. qylHh, prop. to make
smooth,
elsewhere with the accus.: his tongue, or his words, to
flatter,
comp. on Ps. v. 9; here, as in Prov. xxix. 5, in the sense
of
acting smoothly, blanditlis uti , with lx of the person against
whom
the smooth acting is directed, who is flattered, as in the
passage
referred to in Prov., where the injurious, destructive
nature
of the action was to be marked, with lf. The self-
flatteries,
in which the wicked indulges, cannot have respect
properly
to his moral condition; for, as Sacks
justly remarks,
though
with a wrong application, "it is not the wicked as he false-
ly
represents himself, the would-be-holy, that is here designated,
but
the plainly unrighteous." They have respect rather to his
might
and prudence, to his skill in sinning, by virtue of which
PSALM XXXVI. VER. 2. 15
he
succeeds in every effort, and believes himself to be beyond
the
vengeance of an angry God. He says with the ungodly in
Isaiah,
chap. xxviii. 15, "We have made a covenant with death,
and
with hell are we at agreement, when the overflowing scourge
shall
pass through, it shall not come unto us; for we have made
lies
our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves."
The
expression: in his eyes, refers to the other: before his eyes.
Because
he flatters himself in his eyes, through the arts of flattery
and
self-delusion builds himself up in a feeling of security, there
is
no fear of God before his eyes. The last words point to the
territory,
upon which the self-delusion and flattery are practised,
to
that in regard to which they are employed. In reference to
the
finding of his sin, the hating, means as much as, that God
will
not find his sins hateful, will not punish them. The form
of
expression Nvf xcm is to be explained from Gen. xliv. 16,
when
the sons of Jacob, after the cup was found in the mouth
of
Benjamin's sack, say, "God hath found out the iniquity of
thy
servants." According to this God finds out iniquity, when
he
visits and punishes it. The hating is
here added to mark
more
definitely the quality of the finding, and so, to remove all
dubiety.
The correct view would not have been so often missed
in
expositions of this verse, if more regard had been paid to the
ground-passage,
Deut. xxix. 19, where it is said of the wicked,
"And
it cometh to pass, when he heareth the words of this
curse,
that he bless himself in his heart,
saying, I shall have peace,
though
I walk in the imagination of my heart;" and also the
parallel
passages in the Psalms themselves, such as Ps. x. 6.
Among
those who concur with us in the reference of vylx to the
evil-doer,
several expound: in order to accomplish his sin, in order
to
hate, "in order through his transgression to gratify his hatred
toward
God, or man." So Luther: "that they may further
their
evil cause, and slander others." But Nvf xcm never oc-
curs
so; with the hating we miss the object, and to hate cannot
stand
for, gratifying hatred. Others expound: in consideration
of
the finding of his guilt, and the hating, q.
d. he is so entangled
in
self-deceit, that he has not attained to the recognition of his
sinfulness,
and, therefore, he cannot hate and renounce it. But
it
is against this, that Nvf xcm never signifies: to come to the
knowledge
of sin; and still more, that through this exposition
the
whole character of the wicked, as he is represented in this
Psalm,
is violated: We have here to do with a bold sinner, who
16 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
is
not concerned about finding fig leaves for his sins. Most refer
the
suff. in vylx
to God: Koester: "for he flatters him with
his
eyes, hence he discovers his guilt, hates it;" Tholuck: "for
they
flatter God according to their opinion, in order to commit
the
more securely their evil deeds, and to give loose the reins
to
their hatred." But the character of the wicked is still by
this
construction grossly misconceived; with the words: in his
eyes,
we are by it manifestly embarrassed; Tholuck's mode of
viewing
the last word has already been disposed of, and that of
Koester
steps over into the second strophe from the first, and
slaps
the temptation upon the mouth before it has been put in
words.
In such a case we must cry out with Job, violence!
Ver. 3. The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit, he
ceases to act wisely, to
do good.
The ceasing is to be explained
from
a silent contrast: instead of ceasing, as be ought, to sin,
comp.
frh vldH in Isa. i. 16. lykWh signifies to act pru-
dently,
reasonably, comp. on Ps. xiv. 2, and byFyhl is not sub-
ordinate
to it, but co-ordinate, just as in ver. 2, the second inf.
with
the first l.
Ver. 4. He thinks of mischief upon his bed, he sets himself in
a way not good, he does
not eschew evil.
The phrase: on his
bed,
points to the strength of the evil inclination. The passion
so
rages in him, that it deprives him of sleep. How may it
overreach
hapless innocence? The apparently weak expres-
sion:
a way not good, and: he does not eschew evil, derives its
strength
from its silent contrast to that, which the ungodly is
wont
to do according to the law of God.
The Psalmist now turns himself to
inquire in reference to
the
wicked, and what the righteous has to fear from him, upon
what
must I hope? And in direct contrast to the former,
brings
forward the Lord, and what the righteous has to expect
from
him. Calvin: "although a gloomy and frightful confusion
shelved
itself, which, like a vast abyss, was ready to swallow up
the
pious, David was still firmly convinced that the world is
full
of God's goodness and righteousness, and that heaven and
earth
are governed by him."
Ver. 5. Lord, in the heaven is thy goodness, thy faithfulness
even to the clouds. Mymwhb can only signify: in
the heaven;
and
the current exposition up to the heaven, is to be rejected as
arbitrary.
But the expression: in the heaven, which imports:
PSALM XXXVI. VER. 5,
6. 17
even
still in heaven, comprehends and pre-supposes what is in
the
other, compare Ps. lvii. 10, "For thy mercy is great unto
the
heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds." In the whole re-
presentation,
the pillar of fire and smoke, emblem of the divine
glory,
rises from earth to heaven, so that the expression: in
heaven,
is only suitable when it comprehends: to the heaven.
Quite
naturally. For the Psalmist places the image of consola-
tion
against the image of terror on its own territory. Upon the
earth
rages the malice of the ungodly, the righteous are vexed;
in
opposition to the loftiness which strives in vain to reach
to
heaven, (compare Gen. xi. 4, "whose top may be in hea-
ven,"
and Ps. lxxiii. 9, "They set their mouth in heaven,") the
Psalmist
puts the divine glory, which, giant-like, truly reaches
from
earth to heaven, so that man hopeless must yield to the
might
of God. The love and the faithfulness of God are spe-
cially
named, as the properties which secure help to his people.
Their
greatness is regarded by the Psalmist as an impenetrable
shield
against all attacks even from the most intense and power-
ful
malice. Jo. Arnd: "In all tribulations, let them be ever so
high,
so deep, so broad and long, God's truth and grace are
still
greater and higher."
Ver. 6. Thy righteousness is like mountains of God, thy judg-
ments are a great flood,
man and beast thou helpest, 0 Lord.
With
the love and faithfulness he here connects the righteous-
ness
of God. This comes here, as appears from the parallelism,
not
so far merely into consideration, as it involves the faithful-
ness
of the promise, so that hqdc would be substantially=
hnvmx, but as the property which disposes God
to recompense
to
every one according to his works, to give salvation to the
righteous,
to suspend misery over the wicked. If God is infi-
nitely
righteous, the upright may be of good courage, but the
wicked
should tremble, and the greater their wickedness, the
more
certain is their destruction. The most part regard the
divine
righteousness as compared to the mountains, on account
of
their firmness. So Luther: it stands as the mountains of God.
Jo.
Arnd: "It stands firm as the mountains of God, i.e. immove-
able,
strong, invincible, as the Lord God has made the world
fast
with mountains, so that no potentate has power to lift up
the
mighty mountains, and put others in their place. Even so,
it
is not possible to overthrow God's righteousness, it will as-
suredly
exercise itself upon all men, when God judges the earth
18 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
in
righteousness." But, looking at the parallel members, we
would
rather take the point of comparison to be their greatness
and
height. The mountains of God are certainly the highest
mountains,
not such, however, simply and exclusively, but in so
far
as they proclaim God's creative power. Although the whole of
nature
has been made by God yet that is pre-eminently attributed
to
him, which, elevated by its greatness and glory above all that
resembles
it, directs the thoughts especially to his glory. So
in
Ps. lxxx. 10, the cedars, as kings among the trees, are called
cedars
of God, (Gen. xiii. 10 does not belong to this; for the
discourse
there is not of a
Jehovah,
the paradise Which had been planted by the Lord, and
according
to chap. ii. 10, richly watered.) Here, “as the moun-
tains
of God," is plainly spoken with special emphasis: the object
compared
contains at the same time a pledge of the truth
of
what is likened to it. Of the righteousness of him who made
the
highest mountains, we must entertain no earthly and human
thoughts.
They would rise as witnesses against us, if we did so.
Judgments, the rectoral
transactions, by which God brings to
nought
the evil and assists the good, are the offspring of the divine
righteousness.
Jo. Arnd: "Such judgments of God are always.
being
exercised upon the earth, if the matter is thoughtfully
considered."
According to most expositors, it is the incompre-
hensible
and unfathomable nature of the divine judgments
which
is indicated. But the words cannot bear this sense. For
Mvht never signifies abyss, deep, but always flood,
and the con-
text
imperatively requires the idea of immeasureableness.
Against
the flood of human wickedness stands the great flood,
the
wide ocean, (of this Hbr Mvht is used in Gen. vii. 11, the
only
other place where it occurs,) of the divine judgments. In
the
last words: man and beast thou deliverest, 0 Lord, the
Psalmist
turns back to the divine love, with the representation
of
which he began, and the celebration of which he continues
till
ver. 9. On the "man" an unseasonable comparison is often
made
with Matth. v. 45, and the remark made, "righteous and
unrighteous."
The contrasthere is the general one of man and
beast;
but if the Psalmist had wished to give a closer description
of
the men who enjoy the divine help and deliverance, he would
have,
according to ver. 10, named them as the upright, and such
as
know God. God's goodness towards the bad, which should
move
them to repentance, is excluded by the connection. It is
such
goodness only as might afford consolation in consequence
PSALM XXXVI. VER. 6-8. 19
of
the troubles arising out of the ascendancy of the wicked upon
the
earth. With what design the beast is
here named may
be
understood from the saying of our Lord, "Are not two
sparrows
sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on
the
ground without your Father." Jo. Arnd: God seeks to
console
us by this, and to strengthen our faith, seeing he much
more
cares for us." The somewhat singular expression: Thou
deliverest,
makes it probable that the Psalmist alludes to the
great
proof of God's preserving love in the deluge, in which,
besides
Noah, the whole animal creation was delivered, an al-
lusion
which is the more probable, as in Ps. xxix. 10; xxxii. 6,
there
is also reference made to the deluge, as hbr Mvht points
to
that transaction, in which the judgments of God appeared as
literally
a great flood, and as another reference is found to
Genesis
in verse 8.
Ver. 7. How glorious is thy goodness, 0 God, and children
of men trust in the
shadow of thy wings.
rqy prop. precious.
John
Arnd: "David rejoices in the
goodness and grace of God,
and
compares them to a noble, precious, and costly treasure."
The
general name of God stands here, because it is the contrast
between
God and man that is expressed. God and man, what
a
distance! How great and glorious must
the divine love be;
which
fills up the infinite gulph between the two, and provides
that
the weak and wretched mortal be the object of God's protec-
tion
and tender care! comp. Ps. viii. The confiding trust comes
here
into consideration in so far as God affords ground and war-
rant
for it. That the children of men can confide in God, must
only
be brought out in a general way. The species in the genus,
who
are not more definitely pointed out here, are the righ-
teous.
hsH with b always signifies: to
trust in, to take refuge
under.
Because the shadow yields defence from the heat, it not
unfrequently
stands as a figurative description of protection.
The
image of wings, only indicated here,
is given at length in
Deut.
xxxii. 11, and Matt. xxiii. 37.
Ver. 8. They drink of the fatness of thy house, and with the
river of thy pleasures
thou givest them drink. It is here still
farther
brought out, what the divine goodness provides for the
servants
of God, notwithstanding all the machinations of the
wicked.
The riches of the divine grace and beneficence are re-
presented
in both members under the image of a copious drink,
with
which it supplies them. For that this grace is not repre-
20 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
sented
in the first member, somewhat under the image of food,
with
which he satisfies them, is manifest from Hvr, prop. are
moistened,
comp. Ps. xxiii. 5. The fat must
accordingly be
taken
as a figurative designation of the glorious gifts of God;
Vulgate:
ab ubertate domus tuae, Luther, "of the rich goods
of
thy house," far more correctly than our recent expositors,
who
quite prosaically remark, that the fat is here spoken of as
fit
for drinking, rather than eating. The house of God is here
neither,
as several absurdly expound, the world, which is never
so
named, nor is it, as others suppose, a mere image of a divine
storehouse,
but it is here, as everywhere else, the national.
sanctuary,
the tabernacle of the congregation, in which the ser-
vants
of the Lord spiritually dwell with him, and where they
are
tenderly cared for by him as the good householder. Comp.
on
Ps. xv. 1; xxiii. 6; xxiv. 3; xxvii. 4, 5; lxv. 4. Michaelis,
correctly
as to the sense: ecclesiae tuae. For the house of God
was
the image of the church. In the second member there
seems
to be a reference to Gen. ii. 10, "And a river went out
from
to
in John iv. 18; Ez. xlvii.; Zech. xiv. 8--passages in which the
thought,
the whole earth shall partake of the blessings of the
which,
issuing from
region
around. Comp. Christol. P. II. p. 367. In the stream,
which
of old watered the garden of Eden for the good of man,
the
Psalmist saw the, type of that stream of bliss, with which
God's
love never ceases to refresh his people.
Ver. 9. For with thee is the fountain of life, in thy light we
see light. The verse confirms the
subject of the preceding one,
and
traces it up to its source. God is the fountain of life: in
him
has essential life, and whatever properly deserves this name,
(comp.
on the MyyH
on Ps. xvi. 11,) its origin, as already in
lieut.
xxx. 20, it was said of God to
whosoever
does not draw it from him, the one source of life, he
is
destitute of it, notwithstanding all the means which he may
possess
for his preservation and support; on the other hand,
whoever
has this fountain at command, the malice of the whole
world
cannot take life away from him; he will be kept in life,
and
will drink with satisfaction in the presence of his enemies,
Ps.
xxiii. 5. Light is here as commonly
(comp. on Ps. xxvii.
1,)
a figurative designation of salvation; the expression, "in
PSALM XXXVI. VER. 9-11. 21
thy
light we see light," simply means: through thy salvation we
see
salvation. Since salvation is only from God, the world can
never
bestow it by any means which it has at command; neither
can
it take this away, and in the face even of the greatest evils
the
righteous can say: If God is for me, it matters not who are
against
me. Although the words are verified also upon the
spiritual
territory, we must primarily, as in Job xxix. 3, think of
an
external salvation. This appears from the context, according
to
which, the discourse can only be of such things as were feared
in
consequence of human malice, also from the parallelism with
the
life, and the comp. with ver. 11.
Those, who by the light
understand
the light of knowledge, violently detach the words
from
the connection, and destroy the structure of the Psalm.
The Psalmist has hitherto considered
in a general way, human
malice,
and what the righteous have in their God. Now he
comes
more closely to the distress and assault, which this gene-
ral
consideration had occasioned. He brings the two sides of
the
contrast, which till now he had simply placed over against
one
another, into immediate contact and conflict with each
other,
entreats God that he would unfold his love and righteous-
ness
in his dealings with his own, and especially with him, and
would
deliver him from the wicked. At the close, he sees, in
spirit,
this prayer fulfilled, the wicked annihilated.
Ver. 10. Continue thy goodness to those who know thee, and
thy righteousness to the
upright.
j`wm, to draw, to draw into
length,
to prolong. The knowledge of God has
love to him, and
life
in him for its foundation. The true and essential know-
ledge
of God is to be found only in a sanctified state of mind,
the
gift of God. Comp. 1 Sam. ii. 12; Jer. xxii. 16; Tit. i. 16;
1
John ii. 3; iv. 8. The righteousness
of God here also stands
in
no special reference to covenant faithfulness, but is to be
understood
as exercised in so far as he gives to any one what is
his,
comp. on ver. 5. On the upright see
on Ps. xxxiii. 1.
Ver. 11. Let not the foot of pride touch me, and the hand of
the wicked pursue me not. The foot coming upon
any one, for:
he
will be trodden down, violently overborne and oppressed.
The
proud appear as personified pride.
That we must not to
the
words: the hand of the wicked makes me not flee, supply:
out
of my land—that it is rather to be regarded as meaning:
let
me not quit the field before him, be obliged to retire into
the
distance, as David had to do in the times of Saul and Ab-
22 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
salon),
(comp, Ps. xi, 1,) is manifest from the parallelism and the
contrast
in ver. 12. The Psalmist sees there the enemies lying
helpless,
and prostrate, on the very spot where they had thought
to
vanquish him, and put him to flight.
Ver. 12. There are the workers of iniquity fallen they are cast
down and are not able to
arise.
The Psalmist obtains from the
Lord
all answer, and in spirit sees his enemies already over-
thrown.
Mw always means there; never then, comp. on Ps. xiv.
5.
The right view was already perceived by Calvin: "While
the
ungodly are puffed up by their prosperity, the world applauds
them.
But David, looking as from the lofty watch-tower of faith,
descries
from afar their destruction, and speaks of it with as
much
confidence as if it were close at hand." For the last
words
see on Ps. xviii. 88, and Prov. xxiv, 10, "A just Man
falleth
seven times, and riseth up again, but the wicked are
destroyed
by adversity."
PSALM. XXXVII.
THE subject of the Psalm is
collected in the two first verses:
"Be
not angry against the miscreants, envy not the evil-doers,
for
as grass they shall quickly be cut down, and as the green
herb
they wither." He meets the temptation to help himself,
to
oppose power to power, to contend against wickedness with
wickedness,
which often presents itself to the righteous when he
sees
the ungodly prospering, while he himself is in a state of
depression;
and, indeed, in such a way, as to shew, under the
different
turns and images, how the issue becomes sorted to the
righteous
and the wicked, how God in his own time assuredly
recompenses
to every one according to his works, to the wicked
destruction,
to the righteous salvation: so that the only, and at
the
same time, the sure means for tile righteous to attain to sal-
vation
is, that he trust in the Lord and cease not to do good.
That we must not labour to hind out
a connected plan for the
Psalm,
that the judgment of Awyrald is substantially correct:
"There
is scarcely an order observed in it by David, no connec-
tion
of parts, excepting that one and the same subject is handled
in
it under the most diversified applications and manifold varia-
tions,
which all lead to nearly one point, although every one of
PSALM XXXVII. 23
them
possesses its own proper force, so that they are not other-
wise
connected together than as so many precious stones or
pearls
are strung together upon one thread to form a necklace,"
—this
may be concluded even from the alphabetical arrangement
—comp.
the remarks in the introduction to Ps. xxv. The unre-
strained
treatment of the subject leads also to the same result,
justifying
throughout the remark of the Berleb. Bible, "that
things
are therein once and again repeated and frequently in-
culcated,
so that the great subject might not be forgotten, and
the
pious might retain it always in their mouth and heart."
Finally,
this view is also confirmed by the fact, that the Proverbs
hardly
present to any Psalm so many verbal references and re-
semblances
in sound, as to this, which is to be explained only
from
an internal relationship with the sententious poetry of
Solomon,
the Davidic root and origin of which here stands be-
fore
our eyes.—The delineation is very clear, simple, and smooth,
and
in accordance with the alphabetic arrangement, leads us to
the
conclusion, that David speaks here to the "sons"—comp. on
Ps.
xxxiv.—to whom milk and not strong meat must be provid-
ed.
We see here also, how David did not please himself in his
poesy,
but adapted his voice to the necessities of the church,
which
he served with his poetical gift.
An introduction and a conclusion,
which are each made up
of
the number seven, are distinguished from the great mass,
ver.
8-33, by their prevailing hortatory character, while the rest
bears
the character of a calm consideration and simple represen-
tation
of the state of things, interrupted only by a solitary exhor-
tation
in ver. 27. The admonition of the introductory part, is
grounded
in the body of the Psalm, and that at the close grows
out
of this.
In regard to the alphabetical
arrangement, there are two verses
assigned
by the rule to each letter. But various irregularities
occur
here also, which the analogy of all the alphabetical Psalms
forbids
us to obliterate—comp. on Psalm xxv., and still more
the
circumstance, that a close examination of them always forces
on
us the conviction of plan and design. Three letters have only
one
verse appropriated to them, ver. 7, 20, 34, while one letter has
three
verses, ver. 27, and a letter, f, is altogether awanting
The
strophe,
which should have begun with t, has a v placed before
it.
This state of matters is to be explained in the following
manner.
It is not accidental, that we so often see the number
24 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
ten
play an important part in the alphabetical Psalms. It is, just
as
the alphabet, the signature of the complete, what is comprized
in
itself. Now, for the number ten, the Psalmist would fain se-
cure
a place here. The whole, therefore, must be made to com-
plete
itself in four decades. For this purpose the forty-four
verses,
of which it had consisted, if two verses were distributed
to
each letter, must somehow be shortened. But the Psalmist
would
not proceed arbitrarily in doing this, he would only ab-
breviate
there, where an internal ground existed for the abbre-
viation.
At three points an opportunity of doing this offers it-
self.
For obtaining the number seven in the introduction and
the
close, a letter-strophe must each time be deprived of a verse;
the
lot for this was intentionally cast on the last verse of the in-
troduction,
and the first of the conclusion, so that the two im-
perfect
strophes might unite with each other, the second seven
join
itself to the first, whose subject it again resumes. A third
occasion
arose in ver. 20. The middle of the whole, the half
of
the forty, must not remain unmarked, and must not fall into
the
middle of a strophe. Now there was just needed, in order
to
obtain the number forty, the abbreviation of one strophe. But
no
other opening presented itself for doing this, in so far as the
matter
was concerned. Besides, for the letter f no suitable
commencement
was found by the author, so that he sought to
gain
his object by dropping this letter, while he gave to the one
immediately
preceding, s, three verses, in evident and intention-
al
contrast at the same time to the three letters with one verse,
and
in skilful arrangement, making two verses of common, en-
close
a third of uncommon length. Finally, that the v before
the
strophe with t, is not accidentally affixed to it, is improba-
ble
on this account alone, that this strophe is the very last; and
the
conjunction placed there, at once brings the strophe into
connection
with what precedes, and marks its subject as the re-
sult
of the latter, the sum and quintessence of the whole dis-
course.
The reasons which have been brought
against the Davidic
origin
of this Psalm, are of no weight, and are disposed of by
the
remarks already made on Psalm xxv. When an inclination
is
shown to regard Jeremiah as the originator of the alphabeti-
cal
arrangement, it is not considered, that both in form and sub-
stance
this prophet hangs upon an earlier period. The very cir-
cumstance,
that Jeremiah, in his Lamentations, has employed the
25 PSALM XXXVII.
alphabetical
order, shows that he had in this respect important
prototypes
in the past, and is quite fatal to the opinion of the
late
origin of the alphabetical arrangement.
For David's being its author, there
is, besides the super-
scription,
the unquestionable fact, that the Psalm forms the basis
of
a series of declarations in the Proverbs of Solomon. Then,
few
in
of
this Psalm, as David could do—few were so called by the
leadings
of providence, to oppose a barrier to the temptation,
which
arose from the prosperity of the wicked. David had found
many
occasions for giving way to this temptation; he had seen
the
ungodly Saul, the foolish Nabal, the corrupt faction of Ab-
salom,
sitting in the lap of fortune, while he languished in dis-
tress.
David knew the temptation itself from his own expe-
rienee,
although God proved to him, that he did not wholly aban-
don
him, and came to his help at the proper time. When he
cut
off the skirt of Saul, he for a moment forgot this: be not
angry
at the wicked; if his conscience had not smitten him, he
would
have proceeded from the skirt to the heart. Still more
deeply
did he underlie the temptation, when he swore he would
cut
off Nabal with his whole house. Had Abigail not gone to
meet
him, and by her voice awoke his slumbering better self, he
would
have experienced in himself the truth of his declaration
in
ver. 8, that anger toward the wicked leads to a participation in
their
wicked deeds. With deep emotion of heart he says to her
in
1 Sam. xxv. 33, "And blessed be thy understanding, and blessed
be
thou, that thou hast kept me this day from coming to shed
blood,
and from avenging myself with mine own
hand." David,
finally,
had from manifold experience learned the truth of the
sentiment,
upon which he here grounds the dissuasion from re-
venge,
that quietness is the sure path to victory, that he, who
simply
commits his cause to God, shall certainly obtain a happy
issue
to it, and see the punishment of the wicked. Saul, with
his
whole retinue, fell under the judgment of God, and David
succeeded
to his place. In regard to Nabal, whose history is
peculiarly
illustrative of this Psalm, he could speak in 1 Sam.
xxv.
39, "Blessed be the Lord, that bath pleaded the cause of
my
reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant
from
evil; for the Lord hath returned the wickedness of Nabal
upon
his own head." Already, Luther remarks: "Such ex-
amples
had David seen in Saul, Absalom, Ahitophel, and the like,
26 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
who
were mighty in their godless nature, and yet, ere one could
look
around him, were gone, so that one might ask and say, what
has
become of them?"
The divine recompense, to which
David directs the tempted,
is
here, in unison with the two other Psalms, which treat ex pro-
fesso
of the same theme, xlix. and lxxiii., only a temporal one,
and
in vain have Stier and others laboured to find references in
it
to a recompense after death. No ground exists for such en-
deavours;
we have besides the Old Testament the New, and
even
on this account one-sidedness in the Old Testament is no
defect;
it is rather an excellence, if only the side actually brought
out
is a side of truth, since even through the exclusive predo-
minance
of this one side, the truth may be more deeply impress
ed
upon the conscience. That there is here a side of truth, has
often
been boldly denied in recent times; the doctrine of retri-
bution
in temporal things has been affirmed to be a Jewish error:
But
we do not need to attempt the refutation of this view here,
as
it has already been done in our Behr. P. p. 577, ss., where
it
is especially shown, that the New Testament teaches the tem-
poral
recompense as well as the Old, (the oft-repeated principle
in
this Psalm, that the meek shall inherit the land, is taken up
and
confirmed by our Lord in his sermon on the mount), that
this
doctrine has obtained, in a remarkable manner, the consen-
sus
gentium, that the opposite view, however well it may-look,
is
nothing else than practical atheism, and that it leads to the
most
disastrous consequences, while the doctrine of the temporal
recompense
is not only based in sound views of God, but is also
supported
by the important testimony of experience.
The New Testament, while it so resumes
the matter of consola-
much
handled in the Old, in regard to the temptation
growing
out of the prosperity of the wicked and the sufferings
of
the righteous,—comp., besides the statements and passages
referred
to above, 2 Cor. iv, 8, 9,—presents the subject in a three-
fold
point of view. I. It enlarges the field of recompense, mak-
ing
it run into the life to come. 2. It ascribes to the temporal
tribulation
and the temporal salvation a subordinate place, while
it
points to the coming glory as that, with which the sufferings
and
joys of this life are not worthy to be named. 3. It brings
with
it even during this life a great richness of internal goods,
the
possession of which renders the want of the external less
painful. The feeling of the New Testament expresses
itself
PSALM XXXVII. VER. 1, 2. 27
thus,
"I have learned in whatever state I am, therewith to be
content--I
can do all things through Christ strengthening me."
Phil.
iv. 11, 13, and "as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, as hav-
ing
nothing, and yet possessing all things," 2 Cor. vi. 10.
Ver. 1. Inflame not thyself against the miscreants, envy not
tile evil-doers. Ver. 2. For they shall soon be cut down as grass,
and as the green herb
they wither. The
passage first contains
an
admonition, then lays the ground of this. Luther: "How
immediately
does the prophet seize and hit upon the thoughts
of
the heart in this temptation, and take away all causes thereof,
saying,
at the first: 0 man, thou art choleric, and hast cause
for
it, as thou thinkest, for there are wicked men, who do un-
justly,
and commit much evil, while still they continue to pros-
per,
so that nature thinks it has just cause to be angry. But not
so,
dear child: permit grace, and not nature here to rule;
break
thine anger, and be at rest for a little; let them go on
doing
evil and prospering; believe me, it shall do thee no harm.
Then
if men ask: When shall things cease to be thus? Who
can
endure so long? He answers: For as the grass, &c. This
is
a beautiful similitude, terrible to hypocrites, and consoling to
the
afflicted. How entirely does it raise us out of our own sight,
and
place us in the sight of God! In our
sight, the multitude
of
hypocrites flourishes and grows, and covers the world so com-
pletely,
that they alone seem almost to exist; as the green
grass
covers and adorns the earth. But in God's sight what are
they?
Hay, that must presently be made: and the higher the
grass
grows, the nearer is it to the scythe and the hay-cock;
just
as the higher and farther the wicked spread and rise aloft,
the
nearer are they to destruction. Wherefore, then, shouldst
thou
be angry, when their wickedness and prosperity are of so
short-lived
a nature?"— hrH to burn, in Hithp. which it is only
here
and in Pro v. xxiv. 19, to set one's self on fire, to go into a
passion.
The b
after this verb, always marks the person toward
whom
the anger is directed. Hence we are not to translate
here
with most expositors: be not angry with thyself upon, but
only
against the miscreants, as such a
rendering is also the only
one
in accordance with the parallel, as in the second member
too
the objects towards whom the affection is directed, are indicat-
ed
by a b:
xnq
with a b
always to envy any one. Men would
not
have erred from the right exposition, if they had only used
the
story of Nabal in 1 Sam. xxv. as a commentary. That story
28 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
skews
us very distinctly on what account it is, that such a
pointed
admonition is given against rage and envy toward the
wicked.
As it springs from an objectionable ground, from
doubt
in divine providence,—for so long as there is a firm faith
in
this, one will not greatly grudge to the ungodly his transitory
success,
will not be indignant at it, but rather wait, looking to
the
future, and bearing the sufferings which the Lord has sent
as
a trial,—so does it lead to the most unhappy consequences.
From
anger flows revenge, from envy the endeavour to attain
by
one's own arm the like prosperity. So will there come from
indignation
and envy toward miscreants, another miscreant, one
who
will bring force against force, and malice against malice.
That
it is in this respect the warning is here given against anger
and
envy, appears in the clearest manner from the express de-
claration
of the Psalmist's mind in ver. 8, and also what is said
of
the opposite: do good, in ver. 3, and "of the meek," in ver.
11.—References
to ver. 1 occur in Prov. xxiv. 1, 19,—literally
as
here, only that instead of evil-doers we have the wicked, iii.
31;
xxiii. 17. That the Proverbs should present so many coin-
cidences
with the commencement of the Psalm, fitted, as it is, to
make
so deep an impression upon the mind of the reader, shows
that
in the other allusions of the Proverbs to our Psalm the lat-
ter
must be the original, and refutes the view of those who
would
reverse the relation. In ver. 2, Ulm.Ayi, on account of the
pause,
instead of vlm.;yi, is fut. in Kal. from llm, to be cut down,
not
from the uncertain root lmn. John
Arnd: "When grass
has
stood its time, it will be cut down. So, when the ungodly
have
accomplished their end by their prosperity, God sends one
against
them, who cuts them off; as may be seen in Saul and
Ahab,
who, as soon as they were ripe, were swept away, by an
enemy
sent on purpose by God. And when flowers and green
herbs
have stood and bloomed their time, they fall of them-
selves
and wither away. So is it with all the ungodly amid
their
great temporal prosperity. And then they are such
flowers,
as when once fallen, revive no more, but for ever cor-
rupt
and waste, and blossom not again. Ah! why should we
then
be filled with anger at them, and begrudge them their
short-lived
good? We should rather pity their blindness."
Ver. 3. Trust in the Lord and do good, inhabit the land, and
feed in truth. Ver. 4. And delight thyself in the Lord, and he
PSALM XXXVII. VER. 3. 29
shall give thee the
desires of thy heart.
In opposition to the
improper
feeling and mode of acting respecting the prosperity
of
the wicked, the Psalmist first places here the correct one, and
then
points out this as the sure means to the desired end. On
the
first words Luther remarks: "Here he takes away all im-
patient
thoughts and composes the heart to rest. As if he
would
say: dear child, cease from thine impatience, and curse
them
not, neither wish them any evil; such thoughts are human
and
sinful. Put thy hope in God; see what he will make of it;
look
thou to thyself; on no account cease to do good, as thou
hast
begun, where and to whom thou canst, and render not evil
for
evil, but good for evil." The following imperatives: inha-
bit,
etc. are to be taken in the sense of promises, q. d. then wilt
thou
inhabit, feed, delight thyself. hfr with the accus. often
to
bepasture, in a sort of spiritual sense, to feed on somewhat,
Isa.
xliv. 20; Hosea xii. 2; Prov. xiii. 20. The truth
is the
truth
of God, which unfolds itself in his dealings toward the
righteous,
so that he can rejoice therein. Most, proverbially:
feed
securely. To delight one's self in the
Lord, is as much as
to
enjoy his grace and blessing, compare Isa. lviii. 14; Job xxii.
26,
xxvii. 10. The fut.: and he will give thee, etc., serves to
explain
the preceding imperative. Many expositors take all the
imperatives
in the sense of exhortation, and limit the promise
to
the words: "And he will give thee (so will he give thee) the
desires
of thy heart;" others would give the imperatives, at least
in
ver. 3, the force of admonitions. But very important con-
siderations
present themselves against this view. The words:
inhabit
the land, have something strange in them when viewed
thus.
The direction has too little of an active
character. We
should
rather have expected in that case: remain in the land, or
abide
therein. hnvmx hfr must not be translated with Luther:
support
thyself uprightly, for hnvmx is not used as an adverb,
and
to feed cannot stand for to support. Neither can we ren-
der
with others: feed thyself in uprightness, or even in faith;
for
hvvmx signifies
truth, faithfulness, and nothing else. Feed
thyself
in truth, for love, exercise it, were bearable perhaps.
Still
truth seems here somewhat out of place. The delighting
of
one's self in the Lord, is always used only as a felicity and a
gift,
never as an obligation and a proposal; an admonition to
delight
one's self in the Lord, were without all analogy. The
propriety
of viewing it in the light of a promise, is confirmed by
30 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Ver 11. But decidedly against the
opposite view is ver. 27
where
the expression: dwell for evermore, after a preceding
imperative
of admonition unquestionably bears the import of a
promise,
as also the parallel passage, ver. 9-11 22, 29, 34, in
which
the possession of the land, and the dwelling in it is mark-
ed
as a reward of righteousness. With a promissory meaning
stands
also the expression in Prov. ii. 21, "the upright shall
inherit
the land," and x. 30. On the last words: he will give
thee, etc. comp. Ps. xx. 5; xxi.
Ver. 5. Roll thy way upon the Lord, and trust in
him, he will
do it. Ver. 6. And will bring forth thy righteousness as
the
light, and thy judgment
as the noon-day.
Roll thy way, like
one,
who lays upon the shoulder of one stronger than himself a
burden
which he is not able to bear, comp. on Psalm, xxii. 8; I
Peter
v. 7. That way here does not denote
the walking, as well
as
the doing, is clear from the parallel passage, Prov. xvi. 3,
"Roll
upon the Lord thy works;" and also from the expression
he
will do, namely, what is to be done, and what thou canst not
do;
hWf
never stands absolutely; where it appears to do so, the
object
is always to be borrowed from the preceding. The light
is
day-light, noon-day, the time when it shines most brightly.
By
the righteousness many understand subjective righteousness;
the
darkness of misfortune has brought righteousness under the
cloud,
but God will thereby place it in the clearest light, as he
again
favours the innocent sufferer. But,
since the light com-
monly,
and often in the very same connection, an image, not of
revelation,
but of salvation, (comp. Job xi. 17, "And clearer
than
the noon-day shall be thy life; now thou art dark, then thou
shalt
be like the morning," Isa. lviii. 8: Micah vii. 9), the right-
eousness
is better taken as the gift of God, as actual justification,
following
on the communication of salvation. In the correspond-
ing
member, we are consequently to understand by right or
judgment,
that which is conferred by God. The promise here
delivered
will find its complete fulfilment in the day, when the
saints
of God shall shine as the sun, and as the stars of heaven
for
ever and ever. But vain would be the hope of this, if it
were
not realized also in the present state; what has no place
on
this side, can have none on that. There nothing will begin,
every
thing is only perfected. The denial of the temporal re-
compense
is a partial denial of God, and one that by a kind of
consequence
leads to a complete denial. Jo. Arnd: "See holy
PSALM XXXVII. VER.
7. 31
David,
Saul with all his kingly might could not destroy him:
God
brought David forth at last as a shining light, as the sun at
noon-day;
and what a bright light was David over the whole
land!
How thick a darkness fell upon our Lord Christ, the Sun
of
Righteousness, in his holy sufferings and death; but, in his glo-
rious
resurrection and ascension to heaven, and proclamation of
the
blessed gospel, the true light burst forth, and illuminated
the
whole earth, so that even the heathen walk in this light, and
in
the brightness which has proceeded from him."
Ver. 7. Be still to the Lord and wait on him, inflame not thy-
self against him, who is
prosperous in his way, against the man
that practises devices. in this: inflame
thyself not, the conclu-
sion
of the introduction reverts to the beginning, and thus rounds
itself
off. The amplification then begins again in ver. 8, with
the
same thoughts, which, in our introduction, were marked as
the
proper ground-tone of the whole. Mmd always means to
be
silent. Silence is primarily of the
speech, as opposed to pas-
sionate
self-defence, comp. Psalm xxxviii. 13, 14. But if one
must
help himself by speeches, so also and much more by deeds.
The
l
marks him, to whom this silence belongs, with respect to
whom
silence is kept, q. d. be silent with
an eye to the Lord,
who
will speak better and with more effect, than thou canst do,
comp.
Psalm xxxviii. 15, "Thou wilt answer, 0 Lord my God,"
and
the parallel here: wait upon him, which is to be considered
as
an exposition of the vl. Arnd:
"We have heard above, that
our
dear Lord would bring forth the righteousness of the pious
as
the light, and as the sun in clear noon-day. Now, because
this
dear God has such a great work in contemplation for all
fearers
of God, let them be still to the Lord, and not hinder him
in
his work, but wait on him in patience." The two members:
against
him who is prosperous in ins way, against the man, who
practises
devices, define one another, and Luther has properly
brought
them together, "inflame thyself not upon him, who
goes
on prosperously in his perverseness." Those, who do not
recognize
this, would take hWf in the sense of executing, bring-
ing
to pass, in which case an indication of wickedness should not
have
been awanting in the first member. Arnd: "David saw
his
enemy, Saul, enjoy prosperity, and that his perverseness
carried
him on successfully, but was still, committed it to God,
and
would not destroy him, though he often came into his
hands."
32 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Ver. 8. Stand off from anger, and cease from wrath, inflame.
thyself not, so that
thou also dost evil.
Ver. 9. For evil-doers
shall be cut off, and
they that wait upon the Lord, they shall
possess the land. j`x is to be taken in its
common signification,
only.
Only to evil-doing, points to this, that anger could have
no
other consequence than this, no good, but only this mournful
one.
Luther: "And what avails such rage?
It makes the
matter
no better, nay only sinks it deeper in the ditch. Thou
hast
prevented God, so that thou East lost his grace and favour,
and
art become like evil-doers, and wilt perish along with them,
as
follows." In the doing of evil,
we must not think of mur-
muring
against God, nor generally of an apostasy to the manner
of
thinking and acting characteristic of the ungodly; it is to be
viewed
as specially referring to the behaviour toward the
enemies.
Arnd: "To do many evil things to them from impa-
tience
and revenge, is what would be rued in eternity." The
chief
purport of ver. 9 is to chew, that no ground existed for
anger,
rather must thou carefully restrain thyself from it, for
evil-doers,
into the circle of whom thou wouldst enter, when
thou
abandonest thyself to rage, &c. The truth of this: they
shall
possess the land, comp. on Ps. xxv. 13, David had himself
experienced
in a wonderful manner.
Ver. 10. It is but a little, and the wicked is no more, and if
thou thinkest upon his
place, it will be gone. Ver. 11. But the
meek shall possess the
land, and delight themselves in great peace.
Upon
Myvnf,
the meek, not, as Luther, the miserable, comp. on
Ps.
ix. 12. Because they have maintained peace, peace shall be
given
them as a reward after the extirpation of the wicked. See
ver.
37.
Ver. 12. The wicked plots against the righteous, and gnashes
against him with his
teeth.
Ver. 13. The Lord laughs at him,
for he sees that his day
is coming.
The day is by the connec-
tion
determined to be that of his misfortune. The laughing of
God,
who has before his eyes the impending ruin of the wicked,
(Berleb.
Bible: "such poor worms, who make themselves so
great
upon the earth, and act so loftily in their impotence, see-
ing
it must so soon be over with them,") is put here in contrast
to
the human mode of reckoning, which remains wedded to the
visible.
Let this divine mode of reckoning be adopted by the
righteous,
and instead of weeping they shall then rejoice, even
before
the divine interference has appeared.
PSALM XXXVII. VER. 14-19. 33
Ver.
14. The ungodly draw the sword and bend
their bow,
that they may cast down;
the poor and needy, and slay the up-
right. Ver. 15. Their sword will go into their heart, and
their
bows shall be broken. Comp. Ps. vii. 15, 16;
ix. 15, 16; lvii.
6.
Prov. xxvi. 27. Ver. 16. The little that
a righteous man
has, is better than the
great possessions of many wicked. Ver.
17.
For the arms of the wicked shall be
broken, and the Lord
upholds the righteous. That we must render:
better is a little,
which
is to the righteous, appears from the parall. pass. Prov.
xv.
16, "Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great
treasure
and trouble therewith," xvi. 8. NvmH never signifies
exactly
riches, always noise, turmoil, and that this meaning must
be
retained here, appears from Prov. xv. 16, where there is
hmvHm, and Ps. xxxix. 6. But the noise of the
wicked stands
for
his riches, which, in the scraping and holding together, in-
volve
him in noise, turmoil, and disquietude. Mybr, not
greatness,
but many. The Psalmist places the small possession
of
one righteous person in opposition to
the collected goods of
a
whole mass of the ungodly. The ground is laid in verse 17.
It
is, not because the wicked, even in the greatest external for-
tune,
feel themselves internally unhappy, as Calvin supposes,
(that
is only indicated by the turmoil,)
but because their external
fortune
soon goes to wreck, and only serves the purpose of
making
them feel more deeply their future misery. This ground
addresses
itself to faith, which sees what is not, as if it were.
He,
whose arm is broken, the instrument of working, can no
more
either hurt another, or help himself. Comp. Ps. x. 15,
xxxviii.
14, 1 Sam. ii. 31.
Ver. 18. The Lord knows the days of the pious, and their in-
heritance shall be for
ever.
Ver. 19. They shall not be ashamed
in the time of
adversity, and in the days of famine they shall be
full. With the knowing of
the Lord his case is necessarily
bound
up, comp. on Ps. i. 6. The days are not properly the
fates,
Arnd: "God knows what shall befal us every day and
hour,
and causes all things to work together for good to them
that
love him," comp. Ps. xxxi. 15, but the days of life them-
selves.
God fulfils in them his promise, "the number of thy
days
will I make full," Ex. xxiii. 26, and hears their prayer,
"My
God take me not away in the midst of my days," Ps. cii.
24.
With the preservation of their life, the holding of the in-
heritance
is placed in connection. The for evermore
does not
34 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
carry
a respect to a future life, to which the mention of the in-
heritance,
according to Old Testament phraseology, is unsuitable.
It
is to be explained in this way, that the Psalmist here pri-
marily
marks the inheritance of the righteous as a lasting one,
notwithstanding
the attacks of the ungodly; these shall not be
able
for ever to wrest it from them. Hence
the pious is not to
be
thought of as a mere individual. Arnd: "Many and great
goods
are often scattered like the chaff by the wind, and there
is
no blessing and prosperity with them. On the other hand,
small
possessions, which are held with God and uprightness, re-
main
and go with God's blessing to posterity." But the Chris-
tian,
when he hears of the eternal inheritance, must certainly
think
before all of "the inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and
unfading,
which is reserved in heaven," 1 Pet. i. 4, the assurance
of
which is contained in this passage in the spirit, if not in the
letter.—On
ver. 19 comp. Ps. xxxiii. 19.
Ver. 20. For the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the
Lord vanish away as the
joy of lambs, as smoke they vanish.
The
for is here quite in its place. The
prosperity of the wicked
as
a matter-of-fact testimony against the divine righteousness,
appears
to overthrow the truth of what has been said in the
preceding
context upon the prosperity of the righteous. The
Psalmist
here, while he removes that objection out of the way,
lays
the ground of his foregoing principle. But, in another point
of
view also, in so far as life and property are endangered to the
righteous
by the wicked, the destruction of the latter is neces-
sarily
implied in the salvation of the former, and the for in that
way
appears suitable. rqAy;, is stat. constr. of the adj. rqAyA. The
precious of lambs is not their fat, nor is it their wool, but their
fine
grass, the beautiful green of their pasture, agreeably to a
great
many other passages, in which the grass is employed as
an
image of evanescence, and in particular of the evanescent
prosperity
of the wicked, comp. here ver. 2. Many expositors
after
Luther take Myrk in the sense of pastures: the excellent
of
pastures, for, their excellent grass. But that meaning is not
rendered
certain by the two passages, in which confirmation is
sought
for it. In Isa. xxx. 23, we are to render: the lambs
spread
themselves forth, and in Ps. lxv. 13: the pastures clothe
themselves
with lambs. The expression: in smoke—a second
independent
image—is as to meaning the same with, as smoke,
comp.
Ps. cii. 3. But it must be viewed as a proverbial ex-
PSALM XXXVII. VER. 20-24. 35
pression, comp. Ew. Small Gr. § 521. The combination of the
two
images, carries, perhaps, a reference to the destruction of
ungodly.
Arnd: "The land was a pleasure-garden of the Lord
(comp.
Gen. xiii. 10, according to which the district was parti-
cularly
rich in excellent pasture,) but on account of its great
wickedness,
the Lord destroyed the whole region with fire and
brimstone
from heaven, so that a smoke rose up as from an
oven,"
comp. Gen. xix.
Ver. 21. The wicked borrows and repays not, and the righ-
teous is compassionate
and lends. Ver.
22. For his blessed ones
inherit the land, and
his cursed ones shall be cut off. The sense
of
ver. 21 is: the wicked, overtaken by the divine punishment,
cannot
even restore what he has borrowed; the righteous, on
the
other hand, preserved by God and blessed, has the means of
shewing
himself beneficent. Quite unsuitably most take the
not
paying of the wicked, and the lending of the righteous, in a
moral
point of view. This would not accord with the whole
theme
of the Psalm, nor even with the immediately succeeding
context
in ver. 22. This would not, then, as the for
demands,
present
the ground of what is said in ver. 21. Also in the
parall.
pass. ver. 26, is that exposition unsuitable. And, finally,
it
is disproved by the original declarations in the Pent. such as
Deut.
xv. 6, "For the Lord thy God blesseth thee, as he pro-
mised
thee, and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou
shalt
not borrow," xxviii. 12, 44.—The cuff. in ver. 22 refer to
the
Lord, of whom each was naturally thinking, so that there
was
no need of any further designation.
Ver. 23. By the Lord is a man's course ordered, and he has
pleasure in his way. Ver. 24. If he falls, he will not be laid
prostrate, for the Lord
supports his hand.
Many would define
more
closely the rbg: such a man as had hitherto been discours-
ed
of, the pious. But if it had referred to the pious, the article
could
not possibly have been awanting; and for taking the as-
sertion
in a general point of view, we have the parall. pass,
Prov.
xx. 24, "Man's goings are of the Lord, and man under-
stands
not his way," and xvi. 9, "A man's heart deviseth his
way,
but the Lord directeth his steps." We shall find no need
for
taking refuge in this violent exposition, if we only give up
the
supposition, that the two members of the verse stand in
synonymous
parallelism: "It is in no man's power to bring his
36 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
work
to a prosperous issue, from God comes salvation and bless-
ing,"
and God has pleasure in his, the righteous man's way, in
his
undertakings and concerns, so that he cannot but succeed
and
prosper.—The difference between falling and being pros-
trated,
is that of misfortune or loss, and ruin. The hand is
named,
because the fallen need it in order to get up again.
Luther:
"Thus the spirit comforts and answers the secret
thoughts,
which every one might have, saying with himself: I
have,
however, seen it happen, that the righteous is oppressed,
and
his cause is trodden in the dust by the wicked. Nay, he
replies,
dear child, let it be so, that he falls; he still cannot re-
main
lying thus and be cast away; he must be up again, al-
though
all the world doubts of it. For God catches him by the
hand,
and raises him again."
Ver. 25. I have been young and am become old, and still have
never seen the righteous
forsaken, or his seed going after bread.
Ver.
26. Always does he shew himself
compassionate, and lends,
and his seed will be
blessed.
That the Psalmist had composed
this
Psalm in advanced life, we are not to conclude from his
speaking
here of his having been young, and being now old.
In
unison with the whole character of the Psalm, throughout
which
the father speaks to his children, the person of the ex-
perienced
old man may have been assumed by a poetical figure;
and
that this was really the case, is rendered probable by the
circumstance,
that the Psalm nowhere else possesses an indivi-
dual
character. It is to be understood of itself, that the dis-
course
is here of continued desertion and
destitution. David
himself
had often to complain that the Lord had forgotten him,
he
had in his poverty to beseech the rich Nabal for bread, and
the
object of the Psalm is precisely to meet the temptation,
which
grows up to the righteous from temporary desertion. Then
it
is not to be overlooked, that the experience which the Psalm-
ist
here utters, is primarily an Old Testament one. (Complete
impoverishment
belonged to the punishments which were
threatened
to the impious transgressors of the law, comp. Deut.
xxviii.
38, ss.) It is not to be doubted, that God, while he
withheld
from the righteous of the Old Covenant, any clear in-
sight
into a future state of being, on that very account unfolded
his
righteousness the more distinctly in his dealings towards
them
during this life, so that they might not err concerning it.
Still
we must beware of carrying the distinction in this respect
PSALM XXXVII. Ver. 25-29. 37
between
the Old and New Covenant too far. He,
who seeks
first
the
Godliness
has promises not merely for the future, but also for
the
present life. But what is the main point, is: the Lord has
commanded
us to ask our daily bread. Every command issued
by
the Lord is at the same time a promise. He enjoins us to
pray
only for that, which he certainly and without exception
will
grant, (i. e. without any exception, which really deserves
the
name; the man, from whom he withholds the earthly bread,
and
feeds the more plentifully with heavenly food, so that
he
is not conscious of the deficiency as a want, has not
prayed
in vain: Give us this day our daily bread.) But, if
on
this side we are poorer than the members of the Old
Covenant,
we are so only because on the other side we are rich-
or.
What appeared to the members of the Old Covenant as a
continued desertion, presents
itself to us, who can see with quite
other
eyes, the end of this life, only as a passing
one, and, be-
sides,
the Spirit of Christ can so mightily console and quicken
us,
that the failure in temporal things presses little upon us.
But
still, the more that a believer of the New Covenant places
himself
upon the footing of the Old, so much the more securely
must
he confide, that God will not for a continuance abandon
him
in regard also to temporal things. The Berleb. Bible:
"God
gives not the spiritual only, but also the bodily, and the
unrighteousness
is not to be borne, which one perpetrates on God,
when
one thinks, that he sooner abandons those, who surrender
themselves
to him, and place all their hope and confidence in
him,
than others.—God has certainly no delight in this, that even
a
little worm should die of hunger, or a sparrow fall to the
ground.
How can he then allow his children to perish? This
is
not to be believed of him; it is too dishonourable to him.—
Let
us then take good heed how we stand in this respect and
live
before God: whether we have so much faith, that we can
trust
in him only for a piece of bread, and whether we can give
him
credit for so much wisdom, and power, and faithfulness,
that
he will assist and care for us in righteous concerns, and
maintain
his work itself."
Ver. 27. Depart from evil and do good, so shalt thou dwell for
evermore. Ver. 28. For the Lord loves judgment, and forsakes
not his saints, they are
preserved for ever, but the seed of the
wicked shall be cut off.
Ver. 29.
The righteous inherit the land,
38 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
and dwell therein for
ever.
It is evident both from the Mlvfl,
and
also from the two following verses, that the imperative dwell
stands
in the promissory sense, as in ver. 3 and 4, q. d. so shalt
thou
dwell, namely, in the land of the Lord, with allusion to the
formula
in the Pent., "that thy days may be long in the land
which
the Lord thy God giveth thee," and that we are not to
explain
with several commentators: remain always at rest. The
unsuccessful
attempts to press into the Psalm an ain-strophe, we
pass
over, since the foundation of them has been taken away by
what
has been already remarked in the introduction. On the
expression;
the seed of the wicked shall be cut off, the Berleb
Bible
remarks: "This is deeply grounded in the divine right-
eousness,
imprinted thence upon the hearts of men, and as with
terrible
griphins guarded, that no wickedness can remain un-
punished,
and that the ungodly shall infallibly come to a miser-
able
end. If such perdition does not always meet the bodily
eye
or sense, still every thing is only contributing to their deep-
er
ruin. For the destruction of their poor souls is certainly
much
more dreadful before God."
Ver. 30. The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, and his
tongue utters judgment. Ver. 31. The law of his God is in his
heart, his steps totter
not.
The Psalmist had given to the right-
eous
very rich consolation, very beautiful promises. But now,
that
these might not be torn from those, to whom they properly
belonged,
that every one might prove himself whether he had
any
thing more than the name of a righteous person, he here
encloses
the characteristic of the righteous. The expression:
his
steps totter not, is, q. d. he
advances steadily forward in the
good
path. The two verses contain again the three-fold division
of
the decalogue. Ver. 30 refers to the speech, the second half
of
ver. 31 to the actions, and in the midst of the two stands the
heart.
Ver. 32. The wicked lurks for the righteous and seeks to kill
him. Ver. 33. The Lord leaves him not in his hand, and
con-
demns him not when he is
judged.
vnfywry, which must not be
rendered:
he pronounces him guilty, shows that the discourse
here
is not of a human judgment, (it is rather a judgment stand-
ing
in contrast to this), that the matter between the pious and
the
ungodly is represented under the image of a controversy, in
which
God sits for judgment. Arnd: "The whole
all
Christians were, in the times of Maximin and Hadrian, put
PSALM XXXVII. VER. 34-38. 39
to
the ban and exiled, hence Tertullian wrote an apology for
the
Christians to the Emperor, and comforted the Christians by
saying
"Si condenummur a mundo, absolvimur a deo."
Ver. 34. Wait upon the Lord, and keep his way, so will he
exalt thee to possess
the land, the extirpation of the wicked thou,
shalt see. The way of God, the way
which God wills that men
should
go in, which he has prescribed to them in his law.
Ver. 35. I saw a wicked one, who was insolent, and spread
himself forth like a
tree green and deep-rooted. Ver. 36. And
he passed away, and lo
he was no more, and I sought him and
he was not found. Cyrf, fearful, powerful, has
commonly the
related
idea of violence. But this is not here the predominating
one.
We must translate: I saw a wicked one fearful, not a ty-
rannical
wicked one. For the word manifestly stands in a simi-
lar
relation to the: spreading himself. The indigenous is a
tree,
which has never been taken out of its native soil, and trans-
planted.
Such an one is peculiarly strong. Hrzx is elsewhere
also
used of persons, viewed as opposed to
enemies, who have
no
firm root of being in the land. Also we are not here to sup-
ply
tree in a proverbial way, but rather
the never transplanted
tree
appears under the image of one inborn. We must render:
as
an indigenous one, a green one.—There is no reason for trans-
lating:
one passed by, for he passed by, he vanished away.
The
lo! is also quite suitable to the
most natural construction.
Berleb.
Bible: "which points as with the finger of astonishment
to
that quick disappearance." On the expression: I sought
him,
it further remarks: "I could scarcely believe it, that the
man,
who so shortly before had made so great a figure, must al-
ready
come to nothing, so that I cast about for him in every
direction."
Though David in this Psalm speaks not so much
from
his person, as from his nature, yet undoubtedly in this
verse
he had the image of Saul swimming before his eyes.
Ver. 37. Mark the perfect and behold the upright, for a
futurity has the man of
peace.
Ver. 38. And the impious are
extirpated together, the
futurity of the wicked is cut off. The
Psalmist
confidently demands, that people would observe the
fate
of the righteous; for experience will only confirm his posi-
tion,
that it goes well with him at last. Several, after Luther:
continue
pious and hold thyself right; but Mt and rwy never
stand
as abstracts, hxr cannot signify: to be diligent in a mat-
ter,
and: mark and see, manifestly point here to the: I saw, in
40 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the
preceding verse.—Then several expound: for posterity has
the
man of peace; others: for the end of such a man is peace;
but
the "many-meaning" tyrHx has only the one
signification
of
the end, and, in particular, never means posterity,
(see on
Balaam,
p. 158, ss.) and wyxl, cannot possibly signify: such a
man,
and must hence of necessity be joined in stat. constr. with
Mvlw (LXX. a]nqrw<p&
ei]rhnik&?,
Vulg. homini pacifico.) The man
of
peace, the meek, ver. 11, who is not inflamed against the
wicked,
ver. 1, has an end, a future, whilst the wicked, who are
carried
off in the midst of their days, (comp. on Ps. Iv. 23), are
violently
robbed of the end or future.
Ver. 39. And the salvation of the righteous comes from the
Lord, who is their
security in the time of distress. Ver. 40. And
the Lord helps them and
delivers them, delivers them from the
wicked, and saves them,
for they trust in him.
The v
placed be-
fore
the t
announces this strophe as the sum of the whole,
Mzvfm is appos. to Jehovah. On the words: he
delivers them
from
the wicked, Luther remarks: "And that it might displease
the
ungodly he mentions them by name, and says, he will deliver
them
from the ungodly, whatever pain it may occasion them;
and
their fury can be of no avail to them, although they think,
the
righteous cannot escape from them, he must be extirpated."
On
the words: they trust in him, John Arnd: "Ah! says he,
God
cannot, and will not leave them, without rewarding their
fidelity
and confidence, else were he not faithful, not righteous,
not
true to his word."
Luther closes his exposition of the
Psalm with the words
“Oh
shame on our faithlessness, mistrust, and vile unbelief, that
we
do not believe such rich, powerful, consolatory declarations
of
God, and take up so readily with little grounds of offence,
whenever
we but hear the wicked speeches of the ungodly,
Help,
0 God, that we may once attain to right faith. Amen.”
PSALM XXXVIII.
THIS Psalm discovers in its
commencement a near relation to
the
sixth, and in its close a near relation to the twenty-second.
The
coincidences with these Psalms are too literal to be acci-
dental,
and just as little could they originate in unintentional
reminiscence.
The contrary is evident from their
occurring
PSALM XXXVIII. 41
precisely
at the commencement and the close, and from the
entirely
original and independent character which the Psalm
possesses.
The Psalmist begins with a prayer to
the Lord, that he would
not
further punish him in anger, and rests this prayer on the
circumstance,
that it had already been carried to an extreme
with
him, that the time had now come, when, with the righteous,
love
must necessarily take the place of anger, deliverance of
punishment.
This delineation of the suffering of the Psalmist
is
given in two sections. In the first, ver. 2-8, he complains,
after
having spoken in the general of God's hand lying heavy
upon
him, in enlargement of the statement, that there is no sal-
vation
in his flesh, with which begins ver. 3, and with which he
concludes
ver. 7, upon his miserable bodily
condition, and then
upon
the deep distress of his soul. In the second, ver. 9-12,
he
points, after the introductory words in ver. 9, first again to
the
mournful situation in which he found himself, ver. 10, and
then
goes more deeply into the external distress, by which he
was
surrounded, as being completely abandoned by his friends,
and
left to enemies, who were eagerly bent on compassing his
destruction,
ver. 12. After this representation of the greatness
of
his sufferings, there follows in ver. 13-15 the protestation
that
he possessed the indispensable condition of the divine help,
—patience,
the still and devoted waiting upon God; and while
showing
how much he had cause to wait upon God, how much
he
stood. in need of God's help, he here takes a new glance in
ver.
16-20, at his sufferings, and gives a brief delineation of
them:
he has attained to the painful consciousness of his sins,
and
he is threatened with destruction by his numerous and power-
ful
enemies, who persecute him, because he strives after what is
good.
In the conclusion, ver. 21, 22, the prayer is raised on the
ground
thus laid, that God would not forsake him, but would
make
haste to help him.
The Psalm is alphabetical as to its
number, that is, the num-
ber
of its verses coincides with that of the letters of the alpha-
bet.
It is in allusion to this alphabetical character, that in the