§ 46. Jehovah the Creator and Ruler of His People, Ps. 95 Ps. 95 1Oh come, let us sing to Jehovah, Let us cry aloud to the rock of our salvation, 'Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, Let us cry aloud to him with psalms, For Jehovah is a great God, And a great King above all gods. Creator and 生 ruler of the uni verse "In his hand are the depths of the earth, The heights of the mountains are his also. "The sea is his, and he made it, And his hands formed the dry land. "Oh come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before Jehovah our Maker; "For he, indeed, is our God, And we are his people" and the sheep of his hand. To-day, if ye will hear his voice;" Harden not your heart as at Meribah, As in the day of Massah in the wilderness, erful poems which come from the middle and latter part of the Persian period. The last vs., which focuses the attention on Israel's law and ceremonial institutions, is in contrast to the broad universalism of the rest of the ps. In its present structure the ps. is closely parallel to Ps. 19, where a fervent poem in praise of the law is appended to a nature ps. It reveals the spirit and convictions of the later Jews, who regarded natural phenomena and the law as kindred and the highest revelations of Jehovah's character and will. This conviction had taken possession of the Jews during the closing years of the Persian period, so that it is not impossible that the ps. in its present form comes from the same author, although it is probable that the last vs. was added by a later editor to adapt it to a liturgical use in connection with the temple. m 931 So the VSS. Cf. 75a, I (Jehovah) hold up the pillars (of the earth). Heb., The world is established. § 46 This ps., like the others in the group to which it belongs, comes either from the latter part of the Persian or from the Gk. period. Vss. 76-11 are regarded by many as secondary, but they complete the logical unity of the ps. and it is more probable that they are from the original author than the work of a later editor. They illustrate the concreteness which distinguishes the Oriental from the Occidental poet. 95 So Syr. and certain Heb. MSS. So also 1003. Heb., people of his pasture. 09570-11 Cf., for a variant of this theme, 817-12, Let his people wor ship him Be not dis loyal as in the past Exordium Jehovah's majesty Call to all the nations to join in paying him homage To all created things "When your fathers tempted me, Proved me, and saw my work. 10 Forty years was I grieved with that generation, 11So I swore in my wrath, That they should not enter into my resting place. § 47. Proclamation of Jehovah's Universal Rule, Ps. 96 Ps. 96 'Oh sing to Jehovah a new song; Sing to Jehovah, all the earth. 2Sing to Jehovah, bless his name, Proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day. His marvellous deeds among all the peoples. "For great is Jehovah, and most worthy of praise, "For all the gods of the peoples are worthless, 'Ascribe to Jehovah, ye families of the peoples, 10Say among the nations, ‘Jehovah reigneth,* He it is who will judge the peoples with equity.' "Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice; P9510 So Gk., Lat., and Syr. 1969 Lit., splendor, as in ". 847 Pss. 96 and 98 are introduced by the same striking formula and are closely related in spirit and theme. It is possible that they were originally one ps., for 98 develops the thought of 96. The fact that Ps. 96 is quoted in I Chr. 1623-33 suggests, although it does not conclusively prove, that it comes from the Gk. period. 4965 I. e., are nothing and do nothing for their worshippers. The idea is a familiar one in the post-exilic writers. Cf. Lev. 194, 261, and Ps. 977. The reference is to the garments and ornaments to be worn by the worshippers. These must be suited to the worship of the divine King. 969 Lit., whirl, i. e., in the dance. All the earth means its inhabitants. 19610 The parallel text in I Chr. 1630 here departs widely from the order. Vs. 10b is lacking and 10 follows a. Vs. 10b is also but a repetition of 931, The world also is established immovable. It not only introduces an extra line but is also out of harmony with the context so that it must be regarded as secondary. PROCLAMATION OF JEHOVAH'S UNIVERSAL RULE Let every tree of the forest sing for joy," 13 Before Jehovah, for he cometh to judge the earth." § 48. A Call to Praise Jehovah for His Righteousness, Ps. 98 Ps. 98 'Oh sing to Jehovah a new song, For he hath done marvellous things: His right hand hath gotten him the victory, His holy arm hath helped him. "Jehovah hath made known his victory, His righteousness hath he revealed before the nations. "He hath remembered his kindness to Jacob,* 4Shout to Jehovah, all the earth, Break forth, exult, and make melody, § 49. Jehovah's Just and Holy Rule, Ps. 99 Ps. 99 'Jehovah reigneth; let the peoples tremble, He sitteth enthroned;a let the earth quake. 2Jehovah is great in Zion, Exalted is he above all the peoples. 'Let them praise thy great and terrible name, Holy and strong is he, 'He doth reign;b he loveth justice. 9612 The parallel in I Chr. 16 unites the clause, before Jehovah, with this line. 96 So the parallel in I Chr. 1633, and this forms the logical conclusion to the ps. A scribe has by mistake repeated the for he cometh and added, from 989, He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in faithfulness. 981 Supplying the necessary verb, which has apparently been omitted by a copyist because of its similarity to the Heb. word for arm. 1983 So Gk. Heb. omits to Jacob, required by the parallelism. y98 A scribe has added, from Is. 5210, the five-beat line: all the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God. It destroys the metrical symmetry of the vs. and was probably suggested by ia 991 A scribe has added cherubim. 6994 Following Briggs in translating the Heb. as a verb. The current reading, king, is not in harmony with the context. Jeho vah's revela tion of his power to deliver Let all nature praise his just rule Jehovah's just and universal rule in Zion Of his people in the past It is thou who dost establish equity, And worship at his footstool, fore he is holy. "Moses and Aaron among his priests, And Samuel among those who called upon his name; They kept his testimonies, and the statute that he gave them, Thou wast a God that forgave them, Though thou tookest vengeance on their misdeeds. Jehovah's advent as king The rejoicing of his people ye Jehovah our God, And worship toward his holy mountain, § 50. Jehovah's Care for His People, Ps. 97 Ps. 97 'Jehovah reigneth; let the earth rejoice, And blazeth round about his steps." "His lightnings illumine the world, The earth doth see and tremble.h "The mountains melt like waxi At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. "The heavens declare his righteousness, And all the peoples see his glory. Zion heard and was glad, And the daughters of Judah rejoiced, 994 Possibly the abrupt change to the second person in this couplet is due to a scribe. 899 Heb. adds in Jacob. •995 So certain Heb. MSS. and Gk., supported by the analogy in. Traditional Heb. omits for. 1972 Heb. adds and justice. 897 Correcting the Heb. text, which reads, burneth up his adversaries. 197 Lit., was in anguish or writhed round about. But this distinctive note is foreign to the ps. 1975 As the result of dittography or for purpose of explanation, the Heb. adds at the presence of Jehovah. 197 Into this highly poetic ps. a later scribe has inserted the exhortation: Let all of them be put to shame who serve graven images, who boast of idols. Worship him, all ye gods. JEHOVAH'S CARE FOR HIS PEOPLE 'For thou art most high above all the earth, 10 Jehovah loveth' those who hate evil, He preserveth the lives of his saints, He delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. "Light shineth forth for the righteous, And gladness for the upright in heart. 12Be glad in Jehovah, ye righteous, And give thanks in commemoration of his holiness. § 51. Universal Homage to Be Paid to Jehovah by Future Generations, Ps. 2227-31 Jehovah's care for the right eous Ps. 22 27All the ends of the earth will remember and will turn to Jehovah, His And all the families of the nations will worship in his presence; 28 For the dominion belongeth to Jehovah and he ruleth over the nations. 29 Verily, him alone will all the prosperous of the earth worship, Before him all those about to go down to the dust" will bow, 30A seed will serve him, it will be told to a generation 31to come, And they will declare his righteousness that he hath accomplished to a people yet to be born. k979 Heb. adds Jehovah. 19710 So the VSS. The Heb. is clearly due to a verbal error. 51 This brief ps. was evidently added to the ps. which preceded it, 221-, to adapt it to liturgical uses. The connection with the preceding, however, is very loose. The metre is the five-beat rather than the three-beat measure. The theme and spirit are also fundamentally different. Here Israel's missionary hope is clearly expressed. All nations, both the weak and the strong, are soon to come and worship Jehovah. It is difficult to fix definitely the date of this ps. Its liturgical character, its relation to the preceding ps., which is in itself late, and the wide hope here expressed, all suggest that it is one of the latest pss. in the Psalter. The later Gk. or Maccabean period furnishes the most natural historical background. m 2229 Dividing the Heb. letters as the context requires. The ordinary translation, they have eaten, makes little sense. n 2229 I. e., those who are on the verge of starvation and death, in contrast to the fat ones of the earth, in the parallel line. A scribe has added, in order to explain this unusual phrase, the words, even he who doth not keep himself alive. 2230 Slightly correcting the Heb. text in accordance with the Gk. and Syr. P221 Again following the Gk., supported by the Syr., and joining the first word of " to 30. universal dominion |