Dr Kay. Delitzsch's translation, “and shall give heed to the way of his footsteps," is certainly a possible rendg. of both Hebr. and LXX. (libbô and Tǹv kapdíav avroû being then understood after yâsêm and Onore respectively), but appears lacking in force. Ab. Ezra curiously explains this verse to mean, He shall cause the man of righteousness to walk before Him, and shall make His footsteps for a way to him :— Hengst. "Righteousness goes forth before him, and makes its footsteps a way."

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM LXXXVI.

A CONFIDENT SUPPLICATION IN TIME OF AFFLICTION.

TITLE. "A Prayer: to David."

THIS "Prayer" is remarkably similar in style to the other compositions entitled "to David." The plea, "I am afflicted and needy,” (v. 1) is to be found in lxx. 5: the address, "Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul," (v. 4) forms the first verse of Ps. xxv. written under like afflicting circumstances: the complaint of persecution in v. 14 is almost word for word that made by David, when betrayed to Saul by the Ziphites, liv. 3. Further, v. 2 is strikingly similar to xxv. 20; v. 3 to lvii. 1; v. 6 to xvii, 1; v. 7 to xvii. 6a; v. 11 resembles xxvii. 11; v. 9 expresses the same expectation as xxii. 27; and in v. 13 the writer's danger is treated of in a form of expression peculiarly Davidic: cf. xviii. 5; lvi. 13.

Against the natural conclusion that the title, "A Prayer: to David,” is therefore authentic, there are no arguments worthy of consideration, except: 1. The appearance of this Psalm in the midst of a series of Psalms entitled "To the sons of Korah," which presents a difficulty only to those who hold that this title denotes authorship. 2. The repeated use of the title Adonai, "Lord," which occurs seven times in this Psalm; a use which, supposing the title to be correct, is opposed to the modern German theory that the chronological order of the Psalms is indicated by the use of the Divine titles, Jehovah, Elohim, Adonai. In accordance with this theory, Delitzsch assumes that this use of Adonai in this Psalm forms "the start for a later Adonajic style in imitation of the Elohimic." When Delitzsch explains away the palpable resemblances to the acknowledged Davidic Psalms. as if the result of an imitative tendency on the part of the writer, so that this "can only be called a Psalm of David, as having grown out of Davidic and other model passages," and with this assumption in mind, finds (naturally enough) "that the writer

cannot be compared for poetical capacity...with David," we have a fair sample of the shifts to which this theory must reduce the commentator. Its fallacious character will be the more evident when we state that the appellation Adonai occurs in fourteen other Pss. entitled, to all appearance rightly, "to David," that it only occurs in nine Pss. not so entitled; and that whereas in the Davidic Pss. lxviii. and xxxviii. it occurs seven and three times respectively, in no nonDavidic Ps. does it occur more than twice. That David more cften addresses God as Jehovah than as Elohim or Adonai is indisputable, but the natural inferences to be drawn from this fact are (a) that the preference for the title Jehovah is the peculiarity, not of an epoch, but of an individual; (B) that we are not to expect this or any other characteristic to appear in each and every Davidic composition. 3. This is the only Psalm in the third Book ascribed by Title to David. This argument is not of great weight when we consider that Book III. only contains seventeen Psalms; that Ps. lxxxiv., though not so entitled, may very probably be the composition of David; finally, that we know nothing of the origin or system of the present arrangement of the Psalms-that, however, there was no intention of representing chronological order or of confining the Davidic Psalms to the first two books is certain.

We see therefore little reason for doubting that this Psalm was written by David himself. It is a composition of the same order as the Davidic Pss. xvii. xxxi. xxxv. liv. lvi. embodying supplications for release from affliction, professions of faithfulness to Jehovah, and complaints of the machinations of adversaries.

To fix more accurately the date is impossible, but the persecution of Saul and the rebellion of Absalom certainly suggest themselves as the most likely occasions for the production of such a composition. Hengst., chiefly from a misunderstanding of v. 13, assumes that the latter must be the real occasion. But there are no real grounds for selecting the one more than the other.

BOW

OW down thine ear, O LORD, hear me for I am poor and

needy.

2 Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.

1-7. A humble but trustful supplication for deliverance.

I.

More correctly, "Incline Thy ear to me, O Jehovah, and answer me, for afflicted and needy am I."

2. "Holy." Better "pious." (H. TD, châsîd.) The subst. chesed is generally used in bonam partem, (1), of God's gracious goodness to men; (2), of man's kindness to his fellows (Ps. cix. 16); (3), of man's devotion to God, cf. Jer. ii. 2, where it is parallel to aha'vâh, love, in which passage, however, some take it as equivalent to in,

3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.

4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.

6 Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications.

7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer

me.

8 Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.

chên, decor, as in Is. xl. 6. In the later Bibl. books it seems (in plur.) to have obtained the meaning of pious acts (=Rab. mitsvôth); cf. 2 Chron. xxv. 26, Neh. xiii. 14. The adj. châsîd is used (1), only once of God (Jer. iii. 12, LXX. ¿λeńμwv), but the expressions g'dol- or ravchesed, abundant in kindness or goodness, cf. v. 8, are common; (2), of man it is never used in the sense kind, the paraphr. îsh chesed, a man of kindness, being employed instead ; (3), in its most common usage, châsîd, (=“pious”) seems to correspond to all three meanings of chesed; it denotes one, who, starting from the acknowledgment of the great truth that God first loved us, in return devotes himself to His service with all his heart, and consequently shews kindness to his neighbour, who, equally with himself, is created in God's image (see Ps. iv. 3). The Psalmist merely declares that he is one whose habit of life is piety, and as such claims God's protection. Cf. Ps. xcvii. 10. 3. a. Rend. "Be favourable to me, O Lord."

54. Ready to forgive," H. П, sallâch, an adj. which occurs only in this passage. 56. For “mercy" rend. "goodness," or "kindness," in this v. and in vv. 13, 15.

6. "My supplications." H. tach'noonôthay. The fem. form of the plural nowhere else occurs. The interchange of masc. and fem. forms is too common in Hebr. nouns to allow the supposition that there is any peculiar significance in its use here. Del. however maintains that while tach'noonîm means "supplications," tach'noonôth means "importunate supplications."

8-11. The grandeur and omnipotence of Jehovah, an impulse to reverent obedience.

These four verses are obviously to be taken as forming a fresh paragraph. The point of view is completely changed at v. 8. From his personal affliction the poet passes to the aspect of the God he addresses: he bethinks him of the grandeur, unity, and omnipotence of the Creator, 8-10, and thus reminded of the duty of the creature, prays (v. 11) for guidance in the spiritual course, and for closer union with God. This paragraph is further marked off by the introduction

9 All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy

name.

10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.

II Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.

12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.

of that peculiar and ancient system of rhyme, of which we have examples in Gen. iv. 23, Judg. xiv. 18, 1 Sam. xv. 33, Ps. cv. I, 2; each verse closing with the syllable ecâ; while v. II is further divided by the occurrence of this syllable at the end of its chief clauses. This feature appears to have been overlooked in the best-known commentaries: it is of importance, as indicating the true divisions of the poem.

8. "The gods," i. e. those of other nations, not, as Targ., “the angels of Heaven." "Should any one assert that it is unseemly to compare God to the empty fictions, the answer is easy; the discourse is accommodated to the ignorance of men, because we know how daringly superstitious men raise their whims above the heavens." (Calv. ap. Hengst.).

9. The Gentile deities being thus obviously inferior to Jehovah, the Psalmist foresees that one day the Creator will become known to the Gentiles, and the Church of God be extended without limit.

10. b. Rend. "Thou art God the self-existent One," i. e. although there are others named E'lôhîm (v. 8) by misguided men, it is Thou alone that hast the real essential of Divinity, Eternal Unoriginate being. Cf. lxxxiii. 18 note.

II. Such being the characteristics of Jehovah, the Psalmist prays "Teach me [then], O Jehovah, Thy way, that I may walk in Thy truth: make my heart one [with it] that I may fear Thy Name :” i. e. Having (a) given me knowledge of the duties thou requirest, so that I may have before me the true way to please Thee, then (6) engraft it in my affections, that I may always have a due feeling of reverent submission to Thee, whose Name (cf. v. 10) is exalted so exceedingly above all other names.

Make-one. H. yachêd. For this Root cf. Gen. xlix. 6, Is. xiv. 20. LXX. has evoрavlýτw ǹ kapdía pov, Vulg. “lætetur cor meum :" and similarly Syr.; as if the verb form here were, yichad, apocopated fut. Kal of ¡ châdâh,“ he rejoiced.”

12, 13. Having derived confidence from consideration of the Divine grandeur (8--10), and the consciousness that he himself wishes to fear God (11), David continues (12), “I will [yet] give thanks unto Thee, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, (13), For that Thy goodness has been great with regard to me, and that Thou hast delivered my J. L. P.

6

13 For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.

14 O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them.

15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long

suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

16 O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid.

17 Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, LORD, hast holpen me, and comforted me.

soul from the deep abyss." The deliverance can hardly be one already vouchsafed by God, for the sequel shews that the writer is not yet freed from affliction, but still awaits a “token for good," v. 17. The future deliverance, confidently expected, is brought, according to the common Hebr. usage, into the position of a past action. The Psalmist vows that his gratitude will be proportionate to the mercy which shall deliver him from such great depths of affliction; cf. the similar language in xxxv. 28. My soul, i.e. my life. The deep abyss or the undermost Hades is the place wherein the departed await the final judgment. The wording, sh'ôl tachtiyyah, is modelled after Deut. xxxii. 22, but the same thought occurs not unfrequently in other Davidic Psalms. Cf. xviii. 5, lvi. 13.

14 to end. The supplication of vv. 1-7 is resumed, and the nature of the affliction more fully specified.

Verse 14 is an almost exact repetition of verse 3 of the Davidic composition Ps. liv. The only noteworthy differences are that here we have ', zêdîm, "proud men," there D", zârîm, "strangers," (a change perhaps due to an error in transcription), here "the assembly of violent men," a'dath ârîtsîm, there "violent men," ârîtsîm.

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16. a. "Have mercy upon me," better "be favourable unto me." "Son of thy handmaid," an expression recurring once only in the Psalter (cxvi. 16), and there as here used in conjunction with abd'câ, thy servant." The Psalmist, like the Syrophenician woman in Matt. xv. 27, assumes the very lowest position in making supplication, for even as a "home-born slave" (cf. Ex. xxiii. 12) he has claim to the protection of the 'Master of the House.'

17.6. "Because thou hast," i. e. "because thou then shalt have:" cf. the similar use of the past tense in v. 13.