DELIVERANCE FROM CRUEL PERSECUTORS Let thy compassion speedily come to meet us, for we are brought very low. 'Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy renown, And deliver us, and forgive our sins, for the sake of thy name. 10Why should the heathen keep saying, 'Where is their God?' And avenge Let the avenging of the shed blood of thy servants be known among the their nations;i "Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thy face, O Lord,i 12 Yea, render to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom Their reproach, wherewith they have cast reproach upon thee, O Lord. 13So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture" will thank thee forever; We will rehearse to generation after generation the praise due thee. § 149. Prayer That God Will Rescue and Reunite His People, Ps. 80 Ps. 80 10 Shepherd of Israel, hear! Thou who leadest" Joseph like a flock; Throned upon the cherubim, shine forth! "Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, And come thou to us for our salvation. 30 God of hosts, restore us, wrongs Cause thy face to shine, that we may be saved. 40 Jehovah' of hosts, how long Wilt thou be wroth while thy people pray? Wilt thou feed them with the bread of tears, "Make us the butt of our neighbors, While our enemies make us their derision ?r 70 God of hosts, restore us, Cause thy face to shine, that we may be saved. #798 I. e., let Jehovah in his mercy quickly deliver us. The figure is that of messengers coming to meet those in need. b799 Lit., cover. 17910 A scribe has evidently expanded this line by adding in our sight. 17911 Adding O Lord, required to complete the measure. 7911 Lit., save over, cause to remain alive. 17911 Lit., sons of death. m 791 This last vs. may be a liturgical addition. It is an echo of 23, which this later psalmist evidently interpreted as a communal rather than individual ps. § 149 This ps., like 110 and 101, is a valuable historical document. The boar in 13, which has ravaged the vine Israel, transplanted by Jehovah from Egypt, is, beyond reasonable doubt, Antiochus Epiphanes. The man of thy right hand, the son of the man whom Jehovah hath strengthened for himself, is probably Judas Maccabeus. The poet in the opening stanza reveals his familiarity with Ezek. and in 8-11 with the late traditions regarding the kingdom of David. He hopes, like Ezek., for a union of the Heb. tribes and a restoration of the ancient glories. 801 Correcting traditional Heb. vocalization. ⚫803 So Syr. Heb. omits hosts, but cf. 7. P804 Heb. insets God, but the form is ungrammatical, indicating that the word is not original. 80 Lit., contention. 80 So two Heb. MSS., Gk., Lat., and Syr. Heb., to themselves. Thy tender care for Israel in the past Its present devastation Save thy vine Uphold thy people Petition that Jeho vah arise in defence of his servant "Thou broughtest a vine out of Egypt; Thou didst drive out the nations and plantedst it. And it took root and filled the land. 10 The mountains were covered with its shadow, 12Why hast thou broken down its walls, So that all who pass by the way do pluck it? 13The boar out of the wood doth ravage it, And the wild beasts of the field feed on it. 140 God of hosts, restore us; Look down from heaven and behold; Give heed to this thy vine, 15 And the stock which thy right hand hath planted." 17 Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, Quicken thou us and we will call on thy name. 190 Jehovah, God of hosts, restore us; Let thy face shine, that we may be saved. III IMPRECATORY PSALMS Pss. 35, 58, 109, 129, 83, 137 § 150. A Cry for Vengeance, Ps. 35 Ps. 35 'Plead thou, O Jehovah, my cause; fight them who fight me. "Take hold of shield and buckler and stand up for my help. 80 Lit., liftest up. 8011 I. e., extended from the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates River, the traditional bounds of the Heb. empire under David. u 8015 A scribe, by mistake, has introduced 17b here and then repeated it in its original position. 8016 As it stands, the Heb. lacks consistency. The translation given above is based on a slightly different vocalization of the traditional Heb. 8016 I. e., because their wanton act meets the divine disapproval. Imprecatory Psalms.-The imprecatory pss. are not the highest products of Israel's faith. They are rather a survival of the ancient belief that a curse had a certain potency in itself. Under the influence of this belief the old Assyr. kings called down a curse upon any one who in future § 150 This is a typical imprecatory ps. It evidently voices the woes and the problems of the faithful in the Judean community in the days preceding the appearance of Nehemiah. The foes are apparently the arrogant, impious Jews who had cast off all pity or sense of justice. 35 So eight Heb. MSS. and Syr. Trad. Heb., with those who contend with me. word means contend in the law courts. The Heb. A CRY FOR VENGEANCE Draw out spear and javelin' to meet those who pursue me; 'Let them be ashamed and brought to dishonor who seek after my life; 'Let them be as chaff before the wind, thy messenger pursuing them. "May the net they have spread catch them; in their own pite may they "Then my soul will be joyful in Jehovah; it will rejoice in his salvation. 10 All my bones will say, 'Jehovah, who is there like thee, Who deliverest the afflicted from the stronger, and the needy from robbers?' "Witnesses of violences rise up, they ask me whereof I know not; ages dared to remove or mutilate the royal inscriptions. The Heb. word for curse means to bind. The story of Balaam illustrates the popular conception of the effects of a curse. According to I Sam. 17", Goliath cursed David by his gods. II Kgs. 527 states that, as a result of Elisha's curse on the guilty Gehazi, he went out from men snow-white from leprosy. The Heb. sage, in Pr. 262, declares, the curse that is causeless shall not come; but he still held the popular belief regarding the curse pronounced for a cause. The imprecatory pss. are uttered more in the spirit of early prophets than of Jesus. To interpret them rightly it must be remembered (1) that they were usually uttered in behalf of the nation or a persecuted class rather than of an individual; (2) that the men or nations against which they were uttered were cruel, shameless, deliberately, criminal, condemned by law and moral sense; (3) that in the minds of the psalmists the justice of Jehovah's rule of the world was the real issue at stake. The higher the poet's sense of justice and his conception of Jehovah's righteousness, the more passionate his prayer that Jehovah would not only vindicate his servants but himself. McFadyen has rightly said, from this point of view the imprecations are only the vehement expression of a passionate belief in the moral order and of a desire to see its consummation hastened. These pss. are grimly illumined by the context and by the pitiless age in which they were written; but for the same reason they are not adapted to modern Jewish or Christian worship. 35 With Briggs (Pss., I, 103), correcting the Heb. as the context requires. 353 Supplying the Jehovah required by the measure. 355. Heb., the angel of Jehovah, but Jehovah is addressed. b35 Lit., darkness and slippery places. 357 So Syr. Heb. introduces pit in the first instead of in the second part of the line where it belongs. d35 A scribe has introduced at the beginning of this vs. a quotation from Is. 4711, may destruction come upon him unawares. The immediate sequel of 7, however, is 8b, which is concrete and carries on the figure and parallelism. Under the influence of the inserted quotation the original plural has been changed to the sing. in the Heb. 358 Restoring pit, cf. 7, for which destruction has been substituted under the influence of the quotation. 13510 This line is an echo of Jer. 311 and may be secondary, for in its present form it does not fit the measure of the ps. Probably afflicted, which is repeated before the needy, is secondary and the line is original. 3511 I. e., those who bring unjust charges of violence against me. b3513 I. e., I put on the Oriental garments of mourning. 1351 I. e., I was engaged in constant prayer. 13514 Or went in procession (Briggs). Heb. adds returned. 35 A scribe has, by mistake, repeated the verb gather together. 13515 The text is probably corrupt and can be only conjecturally restored. Ingrat itude and pitiless cruelty of his foes May Jehovah vindi cate and judge Guilt of the corrupt rulers 16In my pollution they bitterly mock me; they gnash upon me with their teeth. 17Rescue" my life from the roaring lions," my only one from the lions. 18I will give thanks in the great assembly; I will praise thee among much people. 19Let not mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me, winking with the eye, me; They say, 'Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.' 22Thou hast seen it, O Jehovah, be not silent,a keep not afar from me; 24Judge me, O Jehovah," according to thy righteousness, and let them not 25 Let them not say in their heart, 'Aha, our desire! we have swallowed him up!' 26Let them be ashamed and confounded together who rejoice at my hurt; 27 Let them shout and be glad, who delight in my right and say continually: 28 And my tongue shall talk of thy righteousness, of thy praise all the day § 151. Prayer for the Punishment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Righteous, Ps. 58 Ps. 58 'Are ye in very truth speaking what is right? Do ye judge with equity the sons of men? In the land your hands weigh out violence. "The wicked become estranged as soon as they are born, "Their venom is just like the venom of a serpent; They are like the deaf adder that stoppeth its ear, "Which payeth no heed to the voice of charmers, To him who is the most skillful worker of spells. m3516 Again restoring the text conjecturally (with Briggs) and with the aid of the Gk. Lord, how long wilt thou look on. The sequel of 18 is 17b. 03517 Slightly correcting the Heb., which reads, for their destruction. P3519 The Heb. has a cumbersome explanatory note, those who hate me without a cause. 435 Heb. adds O Lord, destroying the symmetry of the measure. 35 Again the Heb. adds O Lord. 354 Heb. adds my God. 135 Heb. repeats let them not say. 151 This virile ps. probably comes from the first half of the Persian period. Its style is equal to that of Is. 56-59. It is addressed to the unprincipled rulers of the Judean community. u 582 So Syr. Heb., in heart; but this is probably due to a scribal error. 583 Lit., from the womb. PRAYER FOR THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED "Break their teeth, O Jehovah, in their mouth; Tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Jehovah. "Let them melt as water that runneth away of itself; Like tender grass let them wither away. Just like a snail* that melteth away let them go, As a mole crawleth, which hath not seen the sun. 'Before their pots begin to feel the thorns, May he sweep them away, the living even as the burning." 10 The righteous will rejoice when he seeth the vengeance; He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked; "So that men will say, 'Verily there is a reward for the righteous; Verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth.' § 152. Prayer for Vengeance upon Relentless Adversaries, Ps. 109 Ps. 109 1O God of my praise be not silent, 2For the mouth of wickedness they open against me, With words of hatred they encircle me, And fight against me without a cause. "In return for my love they persecute me; 'But they repay me evil for good, "Appoint a wicked man over him, And let the adversary stand at his right hand. Let his days be few, Let another take his office. 'Let his children become fatherless, 587 Slightly revising the text and transposing one word. Note the wealth of figures. *588 So Targ., Gk., Lat., and Syr., war. 588 So Targ., supported by the context. hold the sun. #58 So Syr. and one Heb. MS. 58 Text doubtful. b5811 Or, as in Ex. 228, are judges. Gk., Syr., and Lat., hath fire fallen, they do not be § 152 This ps. is a striking illustration of the survival of the belief in the potency of a curse pronounced upon the guilty, for it is one long curse. It is not clear whether the foe described in 6-19 is a typical enemy or a despotic ruler. The portrait in 16-18 would fit the perfidious high priests Menelaus and Jason or the arch persecutor of the Maccabean days Antiochus Epiphanes. If the latter is in the psalmist's mind, the other foes of which he speaks at the beginning and end of the ps. would be the minions of Antiochus and the apostate Jews. In any case the ps. probably comes from the early part of the Maccabean struggle. Like the other hideous fruits of war and conflict, it illustrates the savage rather than the diviner impulses in the human heart and should have no place in our modern worship. 1092 Heb. adds and the mouth of deceit; but this destroys the metrical symmetry and is probably a scribal expansion. Briggs deletes the entire line. d 1094 Heb., and I myself, my prayer. For them has probably fallen out or else this line is secondary. The next vs., however, supports it. 1096 I. e., Satan to prosecute and persecute him. 11097b-9 Under the influence of the tense feeling the quick, excited two-beat measure appears. |