The Penitent's prayers,

k Lev. 14. 4, 6, 49.

Num. 19. 18.
Heb. 9. 19.

1 Isa. 1. 18.

m Matt. 5. 4.

n Jer. 16. 17.

o ver. 1.

p Acts 15. 9. Eph. 2. 10.

Or, a constant

spirit.

q Gen. 4. 14.

2 Kings 13. 23.

r Rom. 8. 9. Eph. 4. 30.

s 2 Cor. 3. 17.

+ Heb. bloods.

t 2 Sam. 11. 17. & 12. 9.

u Ps. 35. 28.

Τη

and charitable intercessions.

13

u

7. hyssop] See above, on Exod. xii. 22; and Levit. xiv. 4. Num. xiv. 18.

9. Hide thy face] Do not only forgive, but forget, my sins. See xxxii. 1. If we wish that God should turn His face from our sins, our own face must be turned towards them. See v. 3. We must not hide them, if we wish that they should be hidden by Him.

10. Create in me a clean heart] The sense of his natural corruption (v. 5), aggravated by actual sin, produced the consciousness of the need of God's grace to create in him a clean heart, without which he could not hope for communion with the Holy One. He uses the word create (Heb. bara), a word only used of the work of God (see on Gen. i. 1), and showing that the change to be wrought in him could be wrought only by God, Who takes away the stony heart, and gives a heart of flesh (Ezek. xxxvi. 25–27); and that it was a change like that of making a new creature out of nothing. Cp. Jer. xxiv. 7. Ezek. xi. 19. 2 Cor. v. 7.

a right spirit] A stedfast spirit, not to be shaken, as it had been, by the winds of temptation, but firmly fixed (Heb. nacon). Cp. lxxviii. 37; cxii. 7. Gesen. 387.

12. uphold me with thy free spirit] Or, and let (thy) free spirit uphold me. The word rendered free (Heb. nedibah), signifies liberal, generous, magnificent, noble (as opposed to servile and niggardly: see Exod. xxv. 2; XXXV. 5. 21. 1 Chron. xxix. 9. 17. 2 Chron. xxix. 31. Isa. xxxii. 5. 8. Gesen. 535); and it here signifies that Divine Spirit, Who gives ungrudgingly (see James i. 5), and which, when He works without let or hindrance on man's spirit, excites it to the free, cheerful, and joyful obedience of a loving son, as contrasted with the forced service of a fearful slave (Gal. iv. 6, 7); for "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (2 Cor. iii. 17).

13. sinners shall be converted] This shall be the fruit of my conversion, to convert others. Cp. our Lord's words to St. Peter:

"When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren" (Luke xxii. 32).

14. bloodguiltiness] David's eye was now opened to see the murderer of Uriah in himself. See 2 Sam. xi. 14-17; and note on 2 Sam. xii. 5. 9: "Thou art the man;""Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword."

16. thou desirest not sacrifice] Here is the catchword which connects this Psalm with the preceding one. See Ps. 1. 8: "I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices."

18. Zion] Another catchword, which connects this Psalm with the preceding one (1. 2): "Out of Zion God hath shined;" and with a following Psalm (liii. 6): "Oh, that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion." David had brought up the Ark to Zion; but he felt that the presence of God, and the sacrifices offered to Him in Zion, would not profit himself or any one else without personal holiness. David's confession and prayer (like Daniel's, Dan. ix. 5. 16-19) is exemplary to all, because it extends from himself to all the people. See above, on Ps. iii. 8; and cp. the foregoing Psalm (1. 14): "Offer unto God thanksgiving;" and (v. 23): "To him that ordereth his conversation right, will I show the salvation of God."

Build thou the walls of Jerusalem] It has been argued by some recent critics that these words could not have been spoken by David, and must be attributed to some one who lived after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldæans. But it seems to have been forgotten by these commentators, that this prayer of David was literally fulfilled by his own instrumentality, and that of others. See 1 Chron. xi. 8, where it is said, " David built the city round about, even from Millo round about, and Joab repaired the rest of the city;" and see 1 Kings iii. 1: "Solomon built the wall of Jerusalem round about;" and 1 Kings ix. 15. 19. Cp. the similar phrase, -to which also an objection has been made,-in lxix. 35.

19. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices-then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar] Sacrifices are not

The joy of the good is for ever.

a

b

Ezek. 22. 9.

a 1 Sam. 21. 7.

b Ps. 50. 19.

c Ps. 57. 4. & 59. 7. & 64. 3.

d Jer. 9. 4, 5.

Or, and the deceitful tongue.

+ Heb. beat thee down.

e Prov. 2. 22.

f Job 22. 19. Ps. 37. 34. &

40. 3. & 64. 9.

Mal. 1. 5.
g Ps. 58. 10.

h Ps. 49. 6.

Or, substance.

i Jer. 11. 16. Hos. 14. 6.

k Ps. 54. 6.

accounted to be offered at all, unless they are offered by those who first offer the sacrifice of themselves; "the sacrifice of a broken and contrite heart" (v. 17), which God will not despise.

Ps. LII.] The occasion of this Psalm (see the title) is described in 1 Sam. xxi. 7; xxii. 18, 19. It belongs to a series of Psalms connected with the persecution of David by Saul (Ps. 7. 34. 52. 54. 56, 57. 59. 142), which are called “Psalmi fugitivi” by Augustine.

These Psalms may be applied in a figurative sense, to the sufferings and sorrows, endured by the Divine Son of David at the hands of the ungodly; and by His Church in days of persecution.

The connexion of this Psalm with the foregoing, is marked by a reference to works and words. In the former, David had prayed to be delivered from "blood-guiltiness" (v. 14); here he appeals to God for defence against Doeg, who had shed the blood of the priests. In the former, he had vowed to use his lips in teaching the ways of God, and in singing praise to God (vv. 13, 14); here he prays to be delivered from lying lips and from a deceitful tongue. See also above, 1. 19, 20.

4. O thou deceitful tongue] Doeg had maliciously betrayed David, and Abimelech the Priest, to Saul; and his malignity is further evident from the fact, that when Saul's body-guard refused to obey his orders and to slay the priests of the Lord, Saul said to Doeg, "Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod" (1 Sam. xxii. 18).

7, 8.] trusted in the abundance of his riches-but-I trust in the mercy of God for ever] See the similar contrast in xlix. 6. 15.

8. I am like a green olive tree in the house of God] Observe VOL. IV. PART II.-81

the contrast; the wicked, however prosperous they may be for a time, and like a fair and flourishing tree (as Doeg was), and however they may pluck up others (as Doeg did), yet will one day be plucked up by the roots. Cp. the beautiful descriptions in Job viii. 16-19, and in Ps. xxxvii. 35-38, "But I am like a green olive tree planted in the house of God." I visited God in His tabernacle at Nob, and received help from Him, and my hopes are fixed in His sanctuary; "all my fresh springs are in Him" (Ps. lxxxvii. 7). His courts are my home, they are the soil in which I grow, and where in heart and soul I abide, and by which I am enabled to bear fruit. "Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God" (xcii. 13).

The unbelieving Jews were like the barren leafy fig-tree, withered by the breath of Christ (Matt. xxi. 19). They were like the branches broken off from the olive-tree (Rom. xi. 17. 19); but the faithful soul (says S. Hilary) remains ever green and flourishing in the ancient Church of God.

It has been imagined by some, that trees (cedars, palms, and olives) were actually planted in the court of the Temple; and this has been inferred from these two places in the Psalms, and from Ps. lxxxiv. 3 (Stanley's Lectures, Lect. xxvii. p. 207). But these words were written before the Temple was built; and it is hardly probable that trees, which would have had an idolatrous character in the neighbourhood of the sanctuary, would have been permitted there. The olive is not here supposed to be growing in the sanctuary, any more than in another Psalm (Ps. cxxviii. 3) the olive plants are supposed to be about the table. There is another expression in Ps. lxxxiv. 3, which illustrates this; see the note there.

It has been conjectured by some, that Nob itself was on the northern ridge of the Mount of Olives, and that the image here used was suggested by that circumstance (Thrupp, Essay, 217. Stanley, Palest. 187).

M

The hope of the believer.

e

g

t Heb. Who will

give salvations,

&c.

1 Sam. 23. 19. & 26. 1.

Ps. LIII.] This Psalm is an expansion of the preceding. The Psalmist had there said that he was like a green olive-tree in God's house, and that he trusted in His mercy for ever (v. 8); and he looks to Him for help against his enemies, whose treachery and wrath are there described. Here we see the same David, now master of Zion (v. 6), whither he had brought the Ark, and turning his eyes to God's presence there, and praying for salvation from Him.

The word Mahalath (probably derived from machalah, which signifies weakness of body,) in the superscription (cp. Ps. 88), seems to intimate that it is to be sung to a mournful tune, or was composed in a time of sorrow (Hengst.). Others suppose it to mean a stringed instrument (Gesen. 464). It is appointed in the Gregorian use for Good Friday.

This Psalm is a variation of Psalm 14. In each of these two Psalms, the Name of God occurs seven times. In Psalm 14 it is three times Elohim, and four times Jehovah; in the present Psalm it is seven times Elohim. What was the probable reason of this variety? Some have supposed that they were written by different authors, and that the present Psalm, in which Elohim is used, is much earlier than the 14th. Others, on the other hand (as Delitzsch), affirm that the 14th Psalm, in which Jehovah occurs, was first written; and the place assigned to it in the First Book of the Psalms in the Hebrew Church favours this opinion. Both are ascribed to David in their titles, and there is no reason to dispute this statement. The substance of both is David's, though probably in the latter Psalm some touches were added by another hand (cp. Delitzsch, p. 415).

The name JEHOVAH designates God in the world of grace; the name ELOHIM designates Him acting in the natural world (see on Gen. ii. 4. Exod. vi. 3). The 14th Psalm marks this distinction, and serves a special purpose in so doing; and the present Psalm, by using the word ELOHIM where the 14th Psalm had used JEHOVAH, declares that the God of Nature is not a different God from the God of Grace; and by this appellative equation, if we may use the term, it teaches that important truth to all ages in which it is sung in the public worship of God. Thus also it delivers a prophetic protest against a pernicious error in some ancient and modern theological systems, which separate the God of Israel from the God of the Natural World.

3. They are become filthy] See on Job xv. 16, where the same word is used.

5. where no fear was] See Job xv. 21, "a dreadful sound is in his ears,' ," and note on 2 Kings xix. 7; and cp. Prov. xxviii. 1.

God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee: thou hast put them to shame, because God hath despised them] The latter words in the original here, bear much resemblance to those in the parallel Psalm (xiv. 5, 6); but the sense is widely different. The later edition of the Psalm refers to the former, and, at the same time, adds some original features to the picture presented to us in Ps. 14.

Ps. LIV.] The occasion of this Psalm, as indicated in the title, is described in 1 Sam. xxiii. 19; xxvi. 1

3. strangers] Either the Ziphites, who belonged to Judah, but treated David as an alien; or the men of Keilah, whom he had delivered from the Philistines (1 Sam. xxiii. 6).

In either case, what was true of David, is still more applicable to Christ; to Whose cruel sufferings, at the hands of those of His own household and of those Whom He came to save, the devout mind will turn, in reading the series of Psalms which describe the sorrows of David. Accordingly, in the Syriac version, we find the following words prefixed to Ps. 53: "This Psalm reveals to us the Saviour and His deliverance from the ungodly people ;" and to Ps. 55, "Here is a prophecy of the rage of Christ's enemies against Him;" and to Ps. 56, "This is a prophecy concerning the Jews and Christ." And the Church sanctions this view by appointing this Psalm to be used on the day of Christ's Passion, Good Friday. The Sarum use, the Latin use, and the present Church of England use, agree in this. In the two former, it is appointed also for Easter Even.

7. mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies] The words, "his desire," are not in the original, and would be better omitted. What David says is, that his eyes look calmly on his enemies: he views them without alarm, for he feels that the shield of God's power and love is cast over him to protect him. Compare what is said below, lix. 10. The consummation of this idea is seen in the serene movement of Christ, passing through the midst of His enemies, and looking calmly upon them, while they were taking up stones to cast at Him (John viii. 59. Cp. Luke iv. 30, and see the rendering in Sept., Vulg., Syriac, Ethiopic). Christ also lit up the gleams in the dying Martyr's face (Acts vi. 15; vii. 54—59).

Ps. LV.] The troubles of David under Saul are often placed in juxtaposition, in the Psalms, with those which he endured at the hand of Absalom his son; so it is here. We pass from the one to the other in the present Psalm. He takes up the words of the former Psalm (v. 2), “Hear my prayer, O God; give ear

to the words of my mouth," and repeats them here: "Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not Thyself from my supplications;" and he expands here what he had already uttered in a briefer form in Ps. 41. Compare his lament there (v. 9) on the treachery of his familiar friends, with what he says here,

v. 12.

The occasion of this Psalm is described in 2 Sam. xv., where David is seen retiring from Jerusalem, whence he was driven by Absalom, and looking down on the city from the Mount of Olives, and weeping over it, as Christ did, when rejected by it. See above, Prelim. Note to 2 Sam. xv., for a comment on these circumstances.

2. I mourn in my complaint] Rather, I go wandering to and fro, restless and agitated with doubts and fears (see Gesen. 759 under the word rud). This word describes David's state of mind when driven from Jerusalem, and going into the wilderness of Judah, he knew not where.

He adds (vv. 4, 5), My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.

Let us think here of Christ's walk from Jerusalem to Gethsemane, on the night before the Passion, and of the agony there, and the words of the Gospel, "When Jesus had thus said, He was troubled (erapáxon) in spirit" (John xiii. 21); and of the words, He began to be sorrowful (Aureiroa) and to be very heavy. Then saith He unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death."

The Sept. here uses the words ελυπήθην καὶ ἐταράχθην ; and it may be added as another feature in the parallel, that the Sept. uses a remarkable word here in v. 8 (nvλíonv), “I lodged in the wilderness;" and two of the Evangelists use the same words to describe our Lord's lodging in the same neighbourhood in the nights of the week of His Passion. "He went out of the city into Bethany," and ŋůλíσon èkeî (Matt. xxi. 17). Cp. Luke xxi. 37, ηὐλίζετο.