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Shin

Tau

Exordium

156 Thy compassions, O Jehovah, are great; quicken me as thou thinkest just. 157 Many are my persecutors and my adversaries, but I turn not aside from

thy decrees.

158 When I behold the treacherous I loathe them, for they have not kept thy

word.

159 Behold how I love thy precepts; quicken me as thou lovest me.t

160 The sum of thy words" is truth, all thy righteous judgments are eternal.

161 Princes pursue me without cause, but I fear thy word.

162I take delight in thy promise, like a man who discovereth great spoil.
163 Falsehood I hate and abhor; thy law do I love.

164Seven times a day do I praise thee, because of thy righteous judgments.
165 Great peace have they who love thy law, they have no cause for stumbling.
166I hope for thy deliverance, O Jehovah, and I do thy commands.

167 My soul keepeth thy decrees, and I love them exceedingly.
168I keep thy precepts and decrees, for before thee are all my ways.

169 May my cry come near before thee; enlighten me as thou hast promised.
170 May my supplication come before thee; deliver me as thou hast said.
171 My lips will pour forth praise, for thou teachest me thy statutes.
172 My tongue will sing of thy word, for all thy commands are righteous.
173May thy hand come to my help, for I have chosen thy precepts.
174I long for thy salvation, O Jehovah; thy law is my delight.

175 May my soul live and praise thee, and thy judgments help me.
176Though I stray, seek thy servant, for I do not forget thy commands.

lost.

III

THE PROPHETIC STANDARDS OF RIGHT AND WRONG
Ps. 15, 361-4, 50

§ 179. The Psalmist's Decalogue, Ps. 15

Ps. 15 1O Jehovah, who shall abide in thy tent?"
Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?

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119176 A scribe, developing the figure suggested by the verb, has added like a sheep that is

§ 179 This ps. has the simple title, Psalm of David. Its didactic character explains why it was not included in special collections of pss. It is the decalogue of a later psalmist who, in the spirit of the prophets, defines the qualifications for citizenship in Zion in the terms of life and act. He was acquainted with the Deuteronomic and Holiness codes. Cf., e. g., and Lev. 2537. The question form and the figure employed are shared in common with Is. 3314-16:

The sinners in Zion are filled with terror,
Shuddering has seized the impious,

151 I. e., be the guest of Jehovah.

THE PSALMIST'S DECALOGUE

"He who walketh without fault and doeth right,
And speaketh the truth in his heart,
"Who uttereth no slander with his tongue,
Doeth no wrong to his friend,

Nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor.
In his eyes the reprobate is despised,

But those who fear Jehovah he honoreth,

He sweareth to his neighbord and changeth not.
"He lendeth not his money for usury,

Nor taketh a bribe against the innocent.

He who doeth these things shall never be moved.

§ 180. Characteristics of a Thoroughly Bad Man, Ps. 361-4

Ps. 36 1An impious utterance is in the mind' of the wicked man,

There is no fear of God before his eyes;

2For he flatters himself in his sight,

That his hateful iniquity will not be found out.

The qualifications of a true wor

shipper of Jehovah

The criminal type

"His words are trouble and deceit;

He has ceased to act wisely and well.

'He plans on his bed to make trouble,

He devotes himself to a way that is not good,
Evil he does not abhor.

Who [of us, they say], can abide with devouring fire?
Who can abide with everlasting burning?

He who walks in righteousness, and speaks uprightness,
He who rejects that which is gained through oppression,
Who keeps his hand from taking a bribe,

Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed,

And who shuts his eyes so as not to countenance evil.

He shall dwell in lofty heights,

The fastnesses of the rock shall be his stronghold,

His bread is provided, his waters are assured.

The parallels are so many and close that there is little doubt that the one is dependent upon the other and the dependence appears to be on the part of the ps. There are no points of contact, however, with the priestly codes or the later ceremonialism. The ps. was probably written before the great priestly reformation about 400 B.C., but it may well have been inspired by the earlier reform work of Nehemiah which led up to the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. It emphasizes the same practical virtues as did Nehemiah, according to Neh. 5. The noble standard that it holds up is one of the high-water marks of O.T. revelation. The psalmist evidently had in mind the ancient decalogue, for he suggests ten sins to which men were especially prone. The ps. deals, however, with acts rather than motives and is in this respect below the exalted yet practical standard held up by Jesus.

b153 Lit., go about with slander on his tongue. The exact Eng. idiom is, gives no currency to slander. 154 Gk., the evil-doer. Possibly this is original.

d15 So Gk. and Syr. and the demands of the context. Heb., evil or hurt.

e 155 Cf. Dt. 1619.

180 This portrait of a thoroughly bad man fits any race or age. It belongs more appropriately in the book of Proverbs, with which it has close affinities, than at the beginning of a ps. describing Jehovah's goodness. It was probably added by an editor who lived in the Gk. períod when the sages of Israel were at the height of their influence.

1361 Lit., An oracle of transgression it is to the evil man in the midst of his heart. Certain Gk. MSS. and Lat. and Syr. are doubtless right in reading his heart or mind, as the context demands. 362 The meaning of this vs. is obscure. The Heb. verb means, lit., It flatters him in his eyes as regards the finding out of his hateful iniquity. The above rendering apparently represents the thought in the mind of the psalmist and is in accord with the preceding context.

b363 Lit., words of his mouth.

Intro

duction:

Jeho

vah's

advent

to

judge his people

His charge to the faithful: ritual

is unim

portant

§ 181. What Jehovah Demands of His People, Ps. 50

Ps. 50 'The God of godsi speaketh,

Jehovah calleth the earth

From the rising of the sun to its setting.

2Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, he shineth forth.
Our God cometh and is not silent,*

Fire devoureth before him,

And round about him the tempest rageth mightily.

"He calleth to the heavens above,'

And to the earth that he may judge his people:

5 Gather to me my godly ones,

Yem who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.'
"And the heavens shall declare his righteousness,

For Jehovah" himself is about to judge.

"Hear, O my people, and I will speak,
Of thee, O Israel, would I complain:
Jehovah, thy God, am I.

"Not because of thy peace offerings will I reprove thee,
Nor for thy burnt offerings which are continually before me;"
"I will not take from thy house a bullock,

Nor male goats out of thy folds,

10 For all the animals of the forests are mine.

There are thousands of cattle upon my mountains;

11I know all the birds of the heavens,

And the moving things" of the fields are mine.

§ 181 Ps. 50, like 15, is from a disciple of the prophets. His ultimate purpose is to make clear the superiority of the prophetic decalogue of Ex. 20 to the merely ceremonial demands of the law. His unusually elaborate introduction in 16 indicates that he is well aware of the difficulties of his task, for he lived in an age which was emphasizing ever more strongly the importance of sacrifice and the ritual. Hence Jehovah himself, as in Dt. 33, is represented as coming down to earth and summoning his faithful followers to impart to them the great teaching that heart service and righteous lives and deeds are far more important than the smoke of countless whole burnt-offerings. He does not, however, condemn these popular forms of worship, but puts the social virtues of honesty and truth and personal purity in the forefront. Evidently we have here the discourse of a sage set to music. His breadth, his courage, and his tact all impress us. This ps. also illustrates the broad outlook of later Judaism, which included in its temple hymn-book a poem that attributed a secondary place to its cherished sacrificial system. The ps. probably comes from the middle or latter part of the Persian period.

150 The Heb. reads, El, God, Jehovah. But the third title, Jehovah, evidently belongs with the second line, where it completes the measure. 1502 The Heb. adds God.

by a scribe.

But this destroys the metre of this line and was probably added

503 Heb. reads, Let our God enter in and let him not be silent. pious ejaculation of a later scribe.

Possibly this line is but a

1504 Slightly correcting the Heb. text in accordance with the reading of one MS. and the demands of the context.

dues.

m505 The Gk, employs the third person rather than the first throughout this vs.

506 Restoring the original Jehovah instead of the present Heb., God.

• 50 I. e., Jehovah brings no charge against his people of failure to render their ceremonial

P5010 The familiar and poetic rendering, The cattle on a thousand hills, is an impossible Heb. construction, for the Heb., on hills of a thousand, is meaningless and impossible. A very slight change gives the above consistent rendering.

9501 So Gk., Syr., and Targ. Heb., mountains.
1501 I. e., the reptiles and crawling things.

WHAT JEHOVAH DEMANDS OF HIS PEOPLE

12If I were hungry, I would not tell thee,

For the world is mine, and all that is therein.

13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls?

And drink the blood of goats?'

14Offer to Jehovah thanksgiving,

And pay thy vows to the Most High,

15 And call upon me in the day of trouble,

And I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorify me.*

16But to the wicked Jehovah saith,"

V

'What hast thou to do with recounting my statutes, That thou shouldst take my covenant in thy mouth? 17For thou, indeed, hatest instruction,

And thou hast cast my words behind thee."

18 When thou sawest a thief thou wast pleased with him,3
And with adulterers hast thou been a partaker.

19Thou givest thy mouth to evil,

And thy tongue frameth deceit.

20Thou sittest to speak against thy brother,

Thou slanderest the son of thine own mother!

21 These things hast thou done, while I kept silent;

Thou thoughtest that I was like thee;

I will reprove thee and set it forth before thine eyes.

22 Consider this, ye who forget God,

Lest I tear you in pieces, with none to deliver.

23 He who offereth thanksgiving glorifieth me;

And he who walketh blamelesslya will I cause to see myb salva-
tion.'

5014 Restoring the original reading. Heb., God.

5015 Possibly the original read, I will glorify thee.

u5016 This line may have been added by a scribe, but it is required to mark a transition.

5016 I. e., for the wicked man to repeat the divine laws is but hypocrisy.

w 5017 I. e., rejected.

5018 Gk., Syr., and Targ., thou runnest with him. Possibly this represents the original, for it is closely parallel to the following line.

5020 The Heb. construction is awkward. Possibly the original read, thou speakest shamefully against thy brother.

5021 Following the Syr. which has retained the pronoun.

5023 The Heb. reads, and he who puts away. The text is evidently corrupt. A change of one consonant gives the reading adopted above, which is supported by the context. Possibly these two words are a later scribal addition, and the last line should simply read, I will let him see the salvation of Jehovah (Heb., God).

b5023 Heb., God's, but this is the later editor's equivalent of Jehovah's or, if written, as often, in abbreviated form, of the initial letter which in the Heb. is the same as the possessive my, which the context and metre require and which was in all probability found in the original.

Volun

tary

offer

ings

are

acceptable

But hypocrisy detestable

Conclusion

The

universal degeneracy of

man

kind

The resulting

judgment

Prayer for Israel's restoration

Joy of forgive

ness and the torture

of sin uncon

fessed

IV

THE FATE OF THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED
Ps. 14 (53), 32, 37, 49, 34, 52, 1, 91, 112, 73, 82, 94, 125, 128, 133

§ 182. The Destroyers of the Nation, Ps. 14

Ps. 14 'Fools have said to themselves, a "There is no God.'
They acted shamefully, abominably, there was no well-doer.
2Jehovah looked forth from heaven upon the sons of men,
To see if wise men were there seeking after God.

All have gone astray, have backslidden, all of them are corrupt;
There is no well-doer, no, not even one.

'Have the evil-doers, the devourers of my people, no knowledge?
They devour Jehovah's bread; but they do not call upon him.
"There they were seized with terror, for God scattered them;
"Their wicked plan was put to shame,d for Jehovah rejected them.

"Oh, that Israel's deliverance might come forth from Zion!
Through Jehovah's turning of the captivity of his people,
Then Jacob would exult and Israel rejoice.

§ 183. The Joy of Forgiveness and Harmony with God, Ps. 32

Ps. 32 'Happy is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! "Happy is that man to whom Jehovah imputeth not iniquity!e

§ 182 Ps. 53 is a duplicate of 14. Both have the title, For the Musical Director. A Psalm of David. Ps. 53 was inserted in the Elohistic collection so that Elohim or God has been substituted throughout for Jehovah. The other minor variations are simply due to scribal errors and the evident purpose in 14 is to generalize and thus adapt the original ps. to liturgical use. The Gk., Lat., and Syr. Hexapla add nine irrelevant lines, which are quoted in Rom. 310-18. They were compiled from Ps. 58, 107, 361, 1403, Is. 597, 8.

The original ps. perhaps included only 1-5. They refer not to the heathen nations, as has often been urged, but to the worst foes of the community, the atheistic, corrupt devourers of the people, who figure in many other of the pss. of the Persian period as the foes of the pious, The five-beat measure, frequently used in the lamentation song, is here effectively employed. The prayer in is in the four-beat measure. Its connection with the preceding is not close. The sanctuary on Mount Zion has been rebuilt but there has been no general return of the Jews. If this last stanza was not an original part of the ps. it was probably added not long before the appearance of Nehemiah.

a141 The Heb. has in this line the sing. collective but the plural in the next line. The ones referred to are the impious, senseless rulers. b143 Completing the vs. from the parallel 53, which has retained the have backslidden that has dropped out.

14 With Briggs (Pss., I, 104), following the reconstructed and consistent reading suggested by the parallel 535. Heb. reads:

There they were seized with terror, for God is with the righteous generation,
They put to shame the counsel of the afflicted, for Jehovah is his refuge.

d146 Heb., Ye put to shame the counsels of the afflicted.

§ 183 This ps. is distinctly personal. It is evidently the outgrowth of profound individual experience. At the same time it expresses universal human experience. To a noble soul the greatest source of pain is the consciousness of sin and of having wronged another. This pain, however, is an essential element in the healing process. Like the pain of a physical wound, it

32 A scribe has added, as a marginal note. And there is no deceit in his spirit. This line, however, lacks the regular metre of the vs. and the parallelism of thought is complete without it.

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