Prosperity of those who revere Jehovah Deliver and pardon, O Jehovah Preserve me Invo cation 10 All his waysh are mercy and truth, To those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. "For the sake of thy name, O Jehovah, Pardon mine iniquity, for it is great. 12 Who is he that feareth Jehovah? He will instruct him in the way that he shall choose. 13 He himself will dwell in prosperity, And his seed will inherit the land. 14 Jehovah's secret is with those who fear him,j 15 Mine eyes are ever toward Jehovah, For he bringeth forth my feet from the net. And grant thou forgiveness of all my sins. 19 Consider mine enemies for they are many, 20Oh keep my life and deliver me, Let me not be ashamed for in thee I put my trust. 21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for thee, O Jehovah.m § 135. Prayer for Deliverance from Wrong-Doers, Ps. 28 Ps. 28 1To theen I call, O my Rock, turn not a deaf ear to me; Lest if thou turn a deaf ear to me, I become like those who go down to the pit." "Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to thee; While I lift up my hands, O Jehovah, toward thy holy shrine. b2510 Heb., all the ways of Jehovah. But the metre of the vs. strongly suggests that this was a scribal expansion from the original which read all his ways. 125 Slightly correcting the Heb. as the context requires. 1254 I. e., the reverential attitude is necessary for insight and understanding of the divine purpose and for the establishment of the intimate bond between him and the individual. k2517 Dividing the Heb. letters as the context requires. 12518 Supplying the verb required by the acrostic structure of the chapter. A scribe, by mistake, has repeated at the beginning of 18 the initial word of 19. m 2521 So Gk. Heb. omits O Jehovah. A later editor has added, in order to adapt the ps. to liturgical use, Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles. § 135 There are many points of contact between this ps. and 15, 243, and Dt. 261-11. It was written in a time of quiet and reveals an intense interest in the ritual. It is probable that its author was a Levite and that he lived late in the Persian period or else soon after the conquests of Alexander. 28 Omitting Jehovah, which is not supported by the metre or the context. P282 Gk., Jehovah hath heard. 928 Inserting Jehovah as the metre demands. DELIVERANCE FROM WRONG-DOERS 3Draw me not away with the wicked and with the workers of iniquity, "O requite them according to their deeds, and the evil of their doings;" Deliver thine Own and punish the wicked Thanks giving for the "Blessed be Jehovah for he hath heard the voice of my supplications; 'Jehovah is my strength and my shield, my heart trusteth in him; And I am helped and my heart doth exult, therefore with my song will I assur praise him. "Jehovah is the strength of his people, and the saving refuge of his anointed." ance of divine help "Save thy people and bless thine inheritance; Feed them also and lift them up forever. Epilogue § 136. Petition for Jehovah's Help against Malicious Foes, Ps. 4013-17 Ps. 40 13Be pleased, O Jehovah, to deliver me, make haste to help me; 14 May those who seek my life be ashamed and confounded together;" Let them be turned back and put to shame, who delight in my 15 Let them be desolate because of their shame, who say, Aha, aha. 16Let all who seek thee exult and rejoice in thee; X Let those who love thy salvation continually magnify Jehovah. 17Since I am afflicted, O Jehovah,a hasten thou to me; O thou my helper and my deliverer, my God, tarry not. § 137. An Old Man's Prayer for Deliverance, Ps. 71 Ps. 71 1With thee, O Jehovah, I seek refuge; Let me never be put to shame. 283 I. e., do not count me in the number of. Overthrow misfortune; the foes 284 A scribe has added the following explanatory note, based on Is. 512 and Jer. 246, and 45', For they do not appreciate the deeds of Jehovah, and the works of his hands; he will destroy them and not build them up. 1285 So Targ, and Gk. and the requirements of the context. u 28 So Gk., Syr., and certain MSS. This is clearly the original reading as indicated by the following vs. From the parallelism and the context it is clear that Jehovah's anointed was the messianic nation. A later scribe, however, who regarded the Anointed One as the promised messianic king, changed for his people to for him in the first part of the vs. The passage in its original form is richly suggestive of the sense in which the term Messiah or Anointed was frequently used by the psalmist. $136 Although joined to another_ps., it is evident that this fervent prayer was once entirely independent, for it appears as Ps. 70 in a later collection. Its historical background was evidently a time of persecution. in 704. 403 Heb. adds, repetitiously, Jehovah. 4015 So the parallel in Ps. 703. Heb. adds to me. Probably the verb say was added from the parallel 4017 The parallel, Ps. 705, has God, which evidently stood for an original Jehovah. This is clearly supported by the parallelism of the next line. § 137 This ps. is the prayer of an old man beset by foes. He was familiar with Dt., II Is., and many of the earlier pss., as his many quotations indicate. Vss. 1-3 are quoted from 311-3 with slight scribal variations." The dependence on these comparatively late writings and the lack of close literary unity suggest that the ps. comes from the Gk. period. Succor the faithful Deliver thy servant, O Jehovah For he is surrounded by malignant foes Yet is ever ex tolling thee "Deliver me in thy righteousness, and rescue me; "Be thou to me a strong rock, b A house of defence to deliver me; For thou art my rock and my fortress. 'Rescue me, O my God, from the wicked,d From the hand of the unrighteous and violent; My trust from my youth, O Jehovah. 6On thee have I leaned from birth; Thou didst take me from my mother's womb; "I am an object of wonder to many; "My mouth is full of thy praise, And of thy honor throughout all the day. Forsake me not when my strength faileth. And they who lurk for my life counsel together, "Saying, 'God hath forsaken him; Pursue and take him; for there is no deliverer.' 120 God, be not far from me; O my God, make haste to help me." 13 Let the foes of my life be ashamed and disgraced,b 14But I, on my part, hope continually, And praise thee yet more and more. 15 My mouth telleth of thy righteousness, And of thy salvation throughout all the day, 16I will begin with thy mighty acts, O Lord,' I will make mention of thy righteousness, O Jehovah. 170 God, thou hast taught me from my youth, And still I declare thy wonderful works, 713 So parallel in 312. d714 Lit., hand of the wicked. 717 I. e., a hideous object. 1719 Lit., time of old age. #7112 Cf., for original, Pss. 3522, 4013. This vs. may be simply a scribal addition. b711 So many Heb. MSS. Syr. and Heb., be consumed. 171 Heb. adds, destroying the metre, who seek my hurt. It probably was taken from 4. 1715 Following Briggs in translating this doubtful line. k7118 Lit., enter in. 17116 Dividing the line as the parallelism and metre require. Heb. adds thine alone. AN OLD MAN'S PRAYER Until I declare thy strength to a future generation,TM Thy might and thy righteousness, O God, to But thou wilt revive me" again, And wilt bring me up from the depths of the earth. 21Thou wilt increase my glory and again" comfort me, 22I will also praise on the harp, thy faithfulness,' O my God, To thee will I make melody on the lyre, 23 My lips will shout for joy, My mouth will make melody for thee, And my life, which thou hast redeemed. 24My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long; § 138. Prayer for Deliverance from Treacherous Associates, Ps. 120 Ps. 120 1To Jehovah in my distress I called, and Jehovaht answered me. 2Oh deliver my soul from the lying lip, from the tongue that is deceitful. "What shall one requite thee, and what more, O tongue that is deceitful? "The sharpened arrows of a warrior, with glowing broom-coals." "Woe is me that I sojourn with one that draweth the bow! Woe is me that I dwell among the tents of Kedar! "Too long have I been dwelling with those to whom peace is hateful; "I am for peace, but when I speak, they indeed are for war. § 139. A Cry for Deliverance from Violent and Treacherous Enemies, Ps. 140 praise thee Save from treacherous foes From those who love war more than peace 71 Heb. adds O my God at the end of the first line and O Holy One of Israel at the end of the second. Both destroy the metre and are probably scribal expansions. 71 Conjecturally correcting the obviously corrupt Heb. § 138 This intense, passionate ps. was apparently written when apostates like the high priests Menelaus and Jason were in the ascendancy. The reference to the tents of Kedar in is apparently to be interpreted figuratively. According to Gen. 2513 Kedar was the second son of Ishmael. The poet likens his treacherous, quarrelsome foes to the Ishmaeli tes, one of Israel's earliest and most hated rivals. 1201 Transferring Jehovah from the first part of the next vs., where it is superfluous, to 1, where it completes the measure. 1204 This line evidently contains the psalmist's answer to the question propounded in 3. Charcoal of the broom-scrub is still widely used in the East because of the glowing heat which it furnishes. 1205 Supplying the bow, required to complete the line, and repeating the woe is me required to complete the next line. 120 So eight Heb. MSS., Gk., Lat., and Syr. §139 Vss. 12. 13, if original, indicate that the author of this ps. was in all probability a Pharisee in spirit, if not in reality. He was evidently a man prominent in the Jewish state. The foes of Their mali cious char acter Their treacherous designs May their purposes be thwarted Triumph of the right Hear, O Jehovah 2Who devise evil things in their mind, All the time stir up wars, "Who sharpen their tongue like a serpent; The poison of vipers is under their lips. 'Keep me, O Jehovah, from the transgressor's hands; At the side of the track have set traps for me. "I say to Jehovah, 'Thou art my God; "Those who encompass me raise their heads, Let the mischief of their own lips cover them.' 10 May he rain coals of fire upon them, May he cause them to fall in pits from which they shall not rise." "Let not the deceitful man1 be established in the land; 12I know that Jehovah will maintain The cause of the afflicted, the rights of the needy. 13Surely the righteous will give thanks to thy name, The upright will dwell in thy presence. § 140. A Petition for Divine Guidance, Ps. 141 Ps. 141 10 Jehovah I call on thee, hasten to me, which he speaks in the opening stanzas were probably the apostate Jews and the Sadducees. While this ps. may come from the days of Nehemiah, it is most probably to be dated in the last part of the Gk, or the early Maccabean period. 1404 Lit., my footsteps. 1405 Gk., for my feet. The for me is not found in the Heb. 140 So Syr. and the evidence of the next vs. Heb. adds Jehovah. 1407 Heb. adds Lord. b1407 Lit., in the day of weapons. 1408 Heb. adds Jehovah. d1408 Gk. and Syr., they plot. 1400 Transferring the final word of to complete this sentence. Heb., head. 114010 Heb. readings vary. The text has been slightly revised in the light of the context. 140 Heb. adds a doubtful explanatory clause usually interpreted until he be overthrown. It is exceedingly probable that the last three vss. are scribal additions, for they depart from the prevailing measure of the vs. and introduce general statements loosely connected with the passionate theme of the ps. § 140 Unfortunately the text of this ps. is exceedingly uncertain. Like several of the other Maccabean pss., it has been overlaid with later glosses. Thus in is found the incongruous but pious utterance, Should a righteous man smite me and reprove me, it were a kindness. In also we |