put a new song in My mouth, a special psalm of thanksgiving intended particularly for this occasion, even praise unto our God, for this wonderful exhibition of His mercy; many shall see it, be informed of this wonderful deliverance, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord, with reverence and awe of His mercy and grace. From this fact a general truth is now deduced. V. 4. Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, who sets Jehovah as his confidence alone, and respecteth not the proud, turning to them for help, nor such as turn aside to lies, to the false idols and vanities of this life, to everything that men foolishly make the basis of their hope and trust outside of Jehovah. The speaker now, in the joy of His deliverance, includes Himself with the entire congregation of believers in exalting the mercies of Jehovah. V. 5. Many, O Lord, My God, are Thy wonderful works which Thou hast done, not only those pertaining to the creation, but especially to the redemption of the world, and Thy thoughts, the marvelous plans of His mercy, which are to us-ward; they cannot be reckoned up, set forth properly, in order unto Thee, on acount of their bewildering mass, or, there is none that can be compared to Thee. If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. Thus the Messiah, in a prophetic summary, declares the greatness of God, spreads the proper understanding of His name, and leads many to the knowledge of, and the belief in, Jehovah, the God of salvation. V. 6. Sacrifice and offering Thou didst not desire, God does not ask for, and takes no pleasure in, mere outward offerings, in a mechanical form of worship, whether such sacrifices are in the form of thank- and peaceofferings, intended to establish a closer fellowship with God, or in burnt offerings and sinofferings, which are made to atone for sins; Mine ears hast Thou opened, literally, "ears hast Thou digged for Me," preparing His ears for hearing and heeding His will, in a true form of worship; burnt offering and sinoffering hast Thou not required, for all such outward forms of worship have value only in the measure of their flowing out of true faith, 1 Sam. 15, 22. V.7. Then said I, Lo, I come, a solemn announcement of the Messiah's coming into the world, Mal. 3, 1; in the Volume of the Book, in the roll of parchment which is Holy Writ, the one wonderful Book of all times, John 5, 37, it is written of Me: v. 8. I delight to do Thy will, O My God, to carry out the pleasure of God's merciful counsel for the salvation of mankind; yea, Thy Law is within My heart; because the will of God filled His whole being, therefore the Messiah was ready to undertake the great task of preparing eternal redemption for all men. The entire ministry of Christ, but especially His great Passion, shows the. per

fection of His willing obedience. And now the Messiah, delivered out of the dreary pit of suffering and death and exalted on high, testifies to the Word of His truth in the past and in the present. V. 9. I have preached righteousness in the great congregation, declaring and proclaiming it through the mouth of His servants. Lo, I have not refrained My lips, O Lord, Thou knowest, He had not closed them up and kept them shut, but had made known God's faithfulness and salvation, His mercy and truth, John 1, 14, these being the benefits resulting from His completed Passion. V. 10. I have not hid Thy righteousness within My heart, namely, that which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe, Rom. 3, 22; I have declared Thy faithfulness and Thy salvation; I have not concealed Thy loving-kindness and Thy truth from the great congregation. Having thus set forth the everlasting truth of the Gospel, the Messiah returns to the bitter complaint of the days of His suffering. V. 11. Withhold not Thou Thy tender mercies from Me, O Lord; let Thy loving-kindness and Thy truth continually preserve Me. It is the cry of a poor and stricken sinner whom the punishment of God has overtaken, who is tortured by the consciousness of his guilt; for Christ was the full Substitute for mankind, making the misery and the curse resting upon men His own. V. 12. For innumerable evils have compassed me about, attacking Him on all sides like countless hordes of bitter enemies; Mine iniquities have taken hold upon Me, having overtaken him like a victorious army, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of Mine head, for they were the countless millions which had been com

mitted by all men; therefore My heart faileth Me, it has forsaken Him, leaving Him weak and powerless in His misery. V. 13. Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver Me; O Lord, make haste to help Me, haste being necessary because He was in such depths of oppression. V. 14. Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after My soul to destroy it, for all the enemies of mankind were pursuing Him with all the curse, wrath, and damnation which the countless sins of men deserved; let them be driven backward and put to shame, covered with disgrace, that wish me evil. V. 15. Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame, utterly stunned and dazed, that say unto Me, Aha, aha! in sneering derision in an attempt to frustrate His work of redemption. The wonderful plans of God for our salvation are revealed in this passage in all their surpassing glory. The enemies cannot hinder the salvation of mankind, and all their attempts to do so result but in their own downfall. V. 16. Let all those that seek Thee, with hearts filled with faith, rejoice and be glad

in Thee, finding comfort in God, their Savior; let such as love Thy salvation say continually, The Lord be magnified, in a glorious hymn of thanksgiving. V. 17. But I am poor and needy, in misery on account of the load of human guilt resting upon Him; yet the Lord, the All-powerful, thinketh

upon Me, taking care of Him in His trouble; Thou art My help and My Deliverer; make no tarrying, O My God! With the faith in Jesus Christ and His salvation for all mankind in our hearts, we may find comfort in all troubles of this earthly life and victoriously cope with all our enemies.

A Psalm of Thanksgiving and Trust
in God.

To the chief musician, a psalm of David, composed probably during the time of persecution by Absalom and, if not Messianic throughout, is at least in part typical of the Messiah's suffering, John 13, 18; Acts 1, 16. V.1. Blessed is he that considereth the poor, being properly attentive to the afflicted ones, observing the needy with loving sympathy; the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble, literally, "in the day of adversity," rewarding him in mercy for his deed of mercy. V. 2. The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth, be given true prosperity; and Thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies, giving him up to destruction. V. 3. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing, support him upon his sick-bed, not let him sink down in death; Thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness, turning it into a couch of recovery and health. V. 4. I said, Lord, be merciful unto me, this always being the greatest concern of David, just as it stands out in the work of the great Son of David. Heal my soul; for I have sinned against Thee, that being the inward cause of his sufferings. V. 5. Mine enemies speak evil of me, wishing him evil and destruction, When shall he die and his name perish? V. 6. And if he, one of the adversaries whose enmity stood out above that of the rest, come to see me, he speaketh vanity, emptiness, hypocrisy; his heart gathereth iniquity to itself, all forms of mischief; when he goeth abroad, he telleth it, he makes known what he found out by his hypocritical behavior, by feigning a sympathetic interest. V. 7. All that hate me whisper together against me, in making use of the news brought by their spying confederate; against me do they devise my

hurt, with deceitful plotting, in an evil conspiracy, such as that made by the leaders of the Jews after receiving from Judas the assurance of his readiness to betray Christ. V. 8: An evil disease, say they, cleaveth fast unto him, literally, "is welded to him," making it impossible for him to shake it off; and now that he lieth, he shall rise up no more, for the enemies blasphemously considered him marked and judged of God and therefore rejoiced that he was eliminated. V. 9. Yea, mine own familiar friend, literally, "the man of my peace," of his closest friendship and companionship, enjoying the sacred hospitality of his house, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me, not merely in a spurning gesture, but with the avowed purpose of kicking him aside. It is this verse which Jesus expressly applies to His betrayer, Judas Iscariot, John 13, 18. V. 10. But Thou, O Lord, be merciful unto me, David's usual plea for mercy, and raise me up, causing him to arise from his bed of sickness, from his depth of misery, that I may requite them, in executing judgment upon the wicked. V. 11. By this I know that Thou favorest me, that Jehovah has pleasure in him, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me, with shouts of victory, finding himself, rather, disappointed. V. 12. And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, the fact of his being innocent of deliberate wrongdoing, and settest me before Thy face forever, under God's watch and care, as an object of His trust and love throughout eternity. To the psalm has been added the doxology of the entire First Book of Psalms: v. 13. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, the only true God, from everlasting and to everlasting, through all eternity. Amen, and Amen; yea, yea, this is most certainly true, and the firm confession of all believers.

An Exile's Longing for Zion. To the chief musician, for performance in the liturgical part of the Temple-services, Maschil, a didactic poem, for the sons of Korah, written by some member of this Levitical family, or organization, 1 Chron. 6,

22-32, belonging to the Kohathite division of the tribe of Levi. Korah himself had perished in the punishment which followed his revolt, Num. 16, but his sons had not been included in the judgment, Num. 26, 11. Their descendants were afterward distinguished for their poetical

and musical ability, eleven hymns of the psalter being credited to their authorship. They wrote altogether in the style of David, with a fervent love for the Sanctuary of the Lord.

V. 1. As the hart panteth after the waterbrooks, with an intense desire, with an overwhelming sense of want, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God, who is often set forth as a spring of living water for the refreshment of the exhausted. V. 2. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God, the Source of all true life, who alone is able to restore the soul which finds itself in the depths of persecution, misery, and sorrow on account of sin. When shall I come and appear before God? in the regular acts of worship, at the times when all the faithful of Israel were required to come to the central Sanctuary, before the Lord, Ex. 23, 17; 34, 23. V. 3. My tears have been my meat, his substitute for food, his daily portion, day and night, while they, the sneering enemies, continually say unto me, Where is thy God? a question which, of course, implied that God had forsaken him, that he was foolish for placing his confidence in Jehovah. V. 4. When I remember these things, recalling the festive processions in which he has taken part, I pour out my soul in me, permitting it to dissolve in the pain which was filling him with misery; for I had gone with the multitude, it had been his custom to take his place in the procession, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, singing psalms of thanksgiving, with a multitude that kept holy-day. This detailed picturing of the happiness of the past increased both his pain at being deprived of its pleasures and his longing to experience it once more. But in the midst of his complaint the inspired poet stops to admonish his fainting soul. V. 5. Why art thou cast down, bowed to the ground, O my soul, and why art thou disquieted, full of unrest and despondency, in me? No matter, however, what the affliction may be, there is one certain comfort. Hope thou in God, waiting steadfastly and confidently for His help; for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance, the believer's faith trusting in a complete deliverance, holding the firm conviction that God's face would again be turned to Him in mercy. But a reaction once more sets in; there is an ebb, as well as a flow, of the tide of his joyful spirits. V. 6. O my God, my soul is cast down

within me, in utter dejection; therefore, namely, to find new comfort in spite of this feeling of hopelessness, will I remember Thee, his thoughts going back to the Sanctuary of Jehovah, from the land of Jordan, from the country east of Jordan, where the exiled poet was sojourning, and of the Hermonites, the hills connected with Mount Hermon of the Antilebanon range, from the hill Mizar, in whose neighborhood he was making his temporary home. V. 7. Deep calleth unto deep, with the confused noise of deep waters in mighty agitation, at the noise of Thy waterspouts, when floods or cataracts of water come like a deluge; all Thy waves and Thy billows are gone over me, the floods of his sorrow, as sent by God, overwhelmed him. But even while the poet voices his complaint, he once more gains the proper trust in Jehovah. V. 8. Yet the Lord will command His loving-kindness in the daytime, a morning of salvation following the night of sorrow, and in the night His song shall be with me, the excitement of his joy keeping him awake to intone psalms of praise to Jehovah, his state of mind being one of constant happiness, and my prayer unto the God of my life, who does not deliver him to the pains of death. V. 9. I will say unto God, my Rock, a specimen of his prayer being given here, Why hast Thou forgotten me? Why go I mourning, in deep grief and sorrow, because of the oppression of the enemy, with its excruciating pain? V. 10. As with a sword in my bones mine enemies reproach me, with cruel taunts; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God? Their mockery is blasphemous, for they not only decry the hope of the believer as foolish, but deny the very existence of a God who would help the afflicted in his troubles. And so, for the second time, the psalmist chides his despondent soul, v. 11. Why art thou cast down, O my soul, and why art thou disquieted, tossed and agitated like an angry sea, within me? Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise Him, who is the Health of my countenance, his Help and Deliverance, who cheers him and drives away the clouds of sorrow from his face, and my God, to whom he clings despite the enemies' mockery, refusing to have doubt take the place of faith. Temptations caused by times of trouble can be overcome only by the believer's laying hold of God's grace as his one hope of salvation.

Conclusion of the Preceding Psalm. The psalmist again opens with an appeal, followed by a vow of faithfulness to Jehovah and His worship. V. 1. Judge me, O God, vindicating his cause, and plead my cause, as the all-wise advocate against wickedness,

against an ungodly nation, a generation of men not in God's favor. O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man, who is full of falsehood and wickedness, devoid of every idea of right and justice. V. 2. For Thou art the God of my strength, his Refuge and

Stronghold by virtue of his trust in Him; why dost Thou cast me off, turning away from him in scorn, as from something loathsome? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? Cp. Ps. 42, 9. V. 3. O send out Thy light, that of His grace and mercy tending toward the salvation of men, and Thy truth, the faithfulness which keeps His promises without fail; let them lead me; let them bring me unto Thy holy hill, where His Sanctuary had been erected, and to Thy tabernacles, where the Lord dwelled in the midst of His people, letting the light of His essence appear in the revelation of His love in the Messiah, John 1, 14. V. 4. Then will I go unto the altar of God, to the place of His worship, unto God, my exceeding Joy, in

whom all the highest delights of the believer are personified; yea, upon the harp will I praise Thee, a small zither-like instrument used in divine worship, O God, my God, the emphasis again being placed upon the personal relation of the believer to his God, his highest Good. The believer having reached this point of assurance, he admonishes himself for the third time: v. 5. Why art thou cast down, O my soul, and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, who is the Health of my countenance and my God. All believers will guard against coming to their place of worship in a mechanical, dead manner, their hearts rather being united with God in the fellowship of true faith, exulting in Him as their greatest delight.

A Prayer in Times of National Distress. To the chief musician for the sons of Korah, another hymn composed by a member of this family, Maschil, a didactic poem evidently written at a time when the nation was in great peril, the period of David's wars having been suggested when he was overthrowing the Ammonites and the Edomites took advantage of his absence to make a raid on Southern Canaan, 2 Sam. 10. The psalm finds its application in the life of all Christians, being particularly suitable for times of oppression by the enemies of the Church, when it seems that the heathen and tyrants will prevail. V. 1. We have heard with our ears, O God, in the form of instruction in Vogue among the children of Israel, where every housefather informed his children regarding the great works of God, Ex. 10, 2; 12, 26; Deut. 6, 20; our fathers have told us what work Thou didst in their days, in the early history of Israel, in the times of old; v. 2. how Thou didst drive out the heathen with Thy hand, for it was not their own weapons and strength which gave them the victory, as the many specific instances recorded clearly show, but the almighty power of Jehovah, and plantedst them, giving to the fathers of Israel a permanent home in Canaan; how Thou didst afflict the people, the heathen inhabitants, and cast them out. V. 3. For they, the Israelites, got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them; but Thy right hand and Thine arm and the light of Thy countenance, turned upon Israel in mercy, because Thou hadst a favor unto them, being disposed toward them in love. This is the first point which the inspired singer wishes to make, the fact of God's help in times past. This fact, moreover, inspires true confidence in Jehovah, the second point emphasized in the psalmist's prayer.

V. 4.

Thou art my King, O God, emphatically, "Even Thou Thyself art my King"; command deliverances for Jacob, for the small flock of the faithful, of the believers of all times. V. 5. Through Thee will we push down our enemies, as an angry ox charges and overthrows every one coming into his way; through Thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us. V. 6. For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me, all confidence in one's own strength and ability is foolish. V. 7. But Thou hast saved us from our enemies and hast put them to shame that hated us, their opposition to Israel brought them nothing but disgrace, because God was the sole Help of His people. V. 8. In God we boast all the day long, making His almighty power the basis of their confident praise, and praise Thy name, His entire essence as revealed to men, forever. Selah. There follows a description of the desperate straits in which Israel found itself at that time, typical of the troubles which beset the Church of God, and a bitter complaint of neglect. V. 9. But Thou hast cast us off, that is, in spite of the trust which they reposed in Him it seemed that God was bent on their destruction, and put us to shame, a mockery before their enemies; and goest not forth with our armies, the various sections of Israel's army engaged in war. V. 10. Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy, in defeat and flight; and they which hate us spoil for themselves, gaining rich booty in the deserted camp of Israel. V. 11. Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat, to be used for food without offering resistance, and hast scattered us among the heathen, many members of Israel having been led away as slaves in the recent raids. V. 12. Thou sellest Thy people for naught, for a song, as though they were worthless, insignificant, as if He no longer

cared for them, and dost not increase Thy wealth by their price, He did not go high in the price which He demanded in selling them into slavery. V. 13. Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbors, so that the surrounding nations would regard them with derision, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us. V. 14. Thou makest us a byword among the heathen, their fate being bandied about in little verses of mockery, a shaking of the head among the people, in a gesture of sneering contempt. V. 15. My confusion is continually before me, the poet is always conscious of the disgrace resting upon him, and the shame of my face hath covered me, having taken hold of his entire being; v. 16. for the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth, the taunting mockery of whose words cut so deeply; by reason of the enemy and avenger, whose face was full of malignant hatred. The counterpart of all this is found in the treatment accorded the true believers by the children of the world, and the cry of the faithful rises to the Lord at all times in similar strains. Yet they do not continue in vain lamentations, but turn to the Lord in confident prayer. V. 17. All this is come upon us, apparently in punishment; yet have we not forgotten Thee, neither have we dealt falsely in Thy covenant, to deserve such a fate as a punishment. V. 18. Our heart is not turned back, away from the will of God, neither have our steps declined from Thy way, to follow the path of error and denial of God, v. 19. though Thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, where jackals lived, out in the wastes of the desert, where this misfortune had come upon Israel, and covered us with the

shadow of death. It is an emphatic declaration that Israel had not become apostate, continued also in the next sentence. V. 20. If we have forgotten the name of our God or stretched out our hands to a strange god, in open idolatry, v. 21. shall not God search this out? For He knoweth the secrets of the heart, and nothing can be hidden before His omniscience. Then there would be reason for His being angry, then He would rightly reject His children. But this is not the case. V. 22. Yea, for Thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. That is the experience of the believers of all times on account of their adherence to God's Word, to the confession of His holy name. Cp. Rom. 8, 36. Therefore the believers are filled with the courage of faith, with the confidence which appeals to God with the certainty of being heard. V. 23. Awake! Why sleepest Thou, O Lord? this being the conclusion reached because of His failure to bring speedy deliverance to His children. Arise, cast us not off forever! V. 24. Wherefore hidest Thou Thy face, as though He had forgotten all His mercy, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression, as though indifferent to all their suffering? V. 25. For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly cleaveth unto the earth, their condition being one of the greatest oppression and humility. V. 26. Arise for our help and redeem us for Thy mercies' sake, the appeal, not to the justice, but to the mercy of God for the sake of the Redeemer, being the one argument which is bound to make an impression upon the Lord. Such is the daring quality of faith, which wins victories for every Christian and for the entire Christian Church.

The Anointed of God the Bridegroom of the Church.

To the chief musician, for use in public worship, upon Shoshannim, for the sons of Korah, Maschil, a didactic poem, a song of loves. One of the members of the Korahite family composed this wonderful song by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, upon Shoshannim, that is, on or of the lilies, namely, in a figurative sense, partly explained in the words, "a song of loves," the plural referring to the bridal virgins and typifying the bride herself. The psalm is a song of the Bride, of the beloved of the great Bridegroom, the Messiah, and the plural is used because all the beloved of the King are united in the figure of the one who is His heart's delight, His Church. V. 1. My heart is inditing a good matter, the poet's heart is astir with the good word, the wonderful message, which he wants to set forth, the consoling Gospel-news: I speak of

45.

the things which I have made touching the King, dedicating his poem to the great King, the Messiah; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer, of a quick scribe, the thoughts, as inspired by the Holy Spirit, flowing into his pen in an uninterrupted stream. The King to whom he addresses his hymn has so filled his mind as to guide his pen in the glowing account which he here indites, a psalm of Christ, the Messiah, in His wonderful, eager love for His Bride, the Church. The King is now directly addressed. V. 2. Thou art fairer than the children of men, possessing beauty surpassing that of any mere son of man; grace is poured into Thy lips, charm and lovableness show themselves in His speech, in the beauty of His mercy and truth; therefore God hath blessed Thee forever, by virtue of the intimate relation between God and this King, the Messiah, divine blessings flow down upon Him and through His Gospel