JEHOVAH'S LOVE AND GOODNESS

§ 97. Jehovah's Boundless Love and Goodness, Ps. 365-12

Ps. 36 Thy lovingkindness, O Jehovah, is in the heavens,
Thy faithfulness reacheth to the skies,"

"Thy righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
Thy judgments are like the great deep.

Thou preservest man and beast."

How precious is thy lovingkindness, O God!

And men trust in the shadow of thy wings.

"They are fully satisfied with the rich things of thy house,"
And thou makest them drink of thy river of delights;
"For with thee is the fountain of life,

And in thy light shall we see light.

100 continue thy lovingkindness to those who know thee,
And thy righteousness to the upright in heart.

11 Let not the foot of pride come against me,

And let not the hand of transgressors drive me forth. 12There have the workers of iniquity fallen,

They are cast down and are unable to arise.

§ 98. Jehovah's Goodness_Revealed in His Mercy to Man and in His Plen-
teous Provision for His Needs, Ps. 65

Ps. 65 1A song of praise is befitting for thee, O Jehovah," in Zion,
And to thee shall the vow be paid, 20 thou hearer of prayer.
All flesh shall come to thee 3on account of their sins;
Yea, though our transgressions have been too great for us, thou, indeed,
wilt forgive them.

'Happy is the man whom thou choosest and bringest near to dwell in thy courts!

We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, the holiness of thy temple.

§ 97 Two very different themes are treated in Ps. 36. In 14 is found a wisdom ps. describing the thoroughly bad man. Cf. § 181. Possibly a later editor combined the two in order to bring into clear contrast Jehovah's goodness and man's perverseness. The feeling of satisfaction and thanksgiving expressed in 5-9 points to the latter part of the Persian period, when Nehemiah's work had brought prosperity to the Jewish community. Possibly 12 is a later Maccabean addition. P365 This vs. is quoted in 5710 and echoed in 1085.

936 Lit., mountains of El.

366 The Heb. adds Jehovah, but it destroys the regular metre of the vs. and is superfluous. Possibly this line is secondary.

368 Lit., the fatness of thy house, as in 236 and elsewhere in the pss., the faithful are thought of as the guests of Jehovah. The river of delight or pleasures is evidently the river of Eden. Ezek. 473-5 and Zech. 148 picture a life-giving stream issuing from the temple.

§ 98 The symmetry of this beautiful ps. has been obscured by the vs. division to which it was subjected in the middle ages. It is written in the emotional five-beat measure by a poet who, like the author of Ps. 23, was keenly appreciative of the privilege of worshipping in Jehovah's temple. Song service and vows are regarded by men as the gifts most pleasing to God. The figure of the earth watered by irrigation, in 3. 10, suggests that he was familiar with the agricultural methods of either Babylonia or Egypt. The universal outlook in 2 also points to a post-exilic date. Vs. 8 contains echoes of the II Is. The background of the ps. is bright and hopeful. It comes either from the latter part of the Persian or the earlier part of the Gk. period.

1651 Lit., is like to thee, i. e., befits.

651 Heb., God; but this is due to the work of a later editor.

v653 So Gk. Heb., for me.

His good

ness and justice

His bountiful provision for man

Prayer that it

may con

tinue

to those who

trust

him

Man's

gratitude due for divine

forgive

ness and

favor

For the

proofs

of God's

power

in na

ture

And for giving fertility to the land

The domestic

bliss

And

material prosperity

Of the nation

that

trusts

God

His provisions for man's every

need

"By terrible things thou answerest us in righteousness, O God of our salva

tion;

Thou that art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, of the coast lands
and the distant people,

"Who establisheth the mountains by his strength, being girded with might,
"Who stilleth the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves.
"They also who dwell at the ends of the earth fear thy signs,

The outgoings of the morning and evening sing joyously of thee."

"Thou visitest the earth and waterest it, thou greatly enrichest it,
With the river of God, which is full of water, thou providest their grain,
For so thou, O Jehovah,a dost prepare it, 1osaturating its furrows.
Thou settlest its ridges, making it soft with showers,

Thou blessest its growth, thou "crownest the year with thy goodness,
And thy paths drip with fatness; 12the pastures of the wilderness drip,
And the hills are girded with joy; 13they are clothed with lambs;"
The valleys also are covered over with grain; they rejoice and they sing.

§ 99. The Blessedness of Jehovah's People, Ps. 14412-15

Ps. 144 12Ourd sons are like saplings in the full strength of their youth;
Our daughters are as corner pillars, fitly carved for a palace.

13Our garners are full, affording all kinds of store,

Our sheep are bringing forth thousands, ten thousands in our fields, 14Our cattle are with young, there are no miscarriages,

There are no goings forth to war nor outcries in our streets.

15 Happy the people when they have it so!

Happy the people, when Jehovah is their God!

§ 100. Jehovah's Superlative Goodness to Man, Ps. 103

Ps. 103 1Bless Jehovah, O my soul,

And all within me, bless his holy name.

655 Revising the text with Wellhausen.

*65 A scribe has added the clause, and the tumult of the peoples. It or the preceding clause is secondary, for together they destroy the metre and the figure.

y 65% Probably an allusion to the song services at sunrise and sunset.
658 Restoring the last part of this line as the parallelism suggests.

to be that all peoples, east and west, unite in Jehovah's praise.
659 Adding Jehovah, required to complete the measure.

The thought appears

66510 Supplying the with required in English to bring out the logical meaning. The figure of irrigated fields runs through 9, 10.

6512 A scribe has added the flock.

§ 99 This supplement to the prayer in 1441-11 has no connection with its context and is, beyond reasonable doubt, a fragment from an independent ps. It breathes the peace and contentment of the Maccabean period.

d14412 A scribe has added, in order to connect this ps. with the preceding, the relative which. $100 This ps. comes from the school of the wise. It is a meditation as well as a prayer of adoration. Its appreciation of Jehovah's character and attitude toward men, its childlike, filial trust, and its faith in his universal kingdom and rule all connect it closely with the teachings of Jesus. Here is the atmosphere in which the Master Builder of Nazareth was reared, and here is the heart of that universal message which made him the Saviour of men. The dependence upon Jer., II Is., and Ps. 905, 6, the Aram. words, the didactic note, and the hopeful yet not arrogant spirit of the ps. indicate that it probably comes from the Gk. period.

"For as the heavens are high above the earth,

So great is his lovingkindness toward those who fear him. 12As far as the east is from the west,

So far doth he remove our transgressions from us.

13 Like as a fatheri pitieth his children,

So Jehovah pitieth those who fear him.

14 For he, indeed, knoweth our frame;

He remembereth that we are dust.<

15Frail man-his days are as grass;

As a blossom of the field, so he blossometh;1
16 For the wind passeth over it and it is gone;
And the place thereof knoweth it no more.TM
17 But the lovingkindness of Jehovah is everlasting,"
And his righteousness to children's children,
18 To those who faithfully keep his covenant,
And remember his precepts to do them.

1033 Lit., maketh light of, tosseth aside.

1103 I. e., from death; lit., the Pit.

1035 Gk. and Lat., thy desire. Late Jewish rendering, mouth.

1035 Cf., for this figure, Is. 4031.

i103 Lit., judgments.

i10313 For the further use of the figure of father, cf. Ex. 422, 23, Hos. 111-4.

10314 I. e., that we are made of dust, Gen. 27.

110315 With Briggs, bringing out the assonance of the Heb.

to 10316 Taken from Job 710.

10317 A scribe has added in the Heb., from 11, to those who fear him. The same scribe possibly added 18, for it lacks the metrical symmetry of the rest of the ps. and limits the universality of the passage. It also defines piety in the restricted, late priestly sense. Vss. 19 ff. are the immediate logical sequel of 17. The same scribe has added Jehovah at the beginning of 19, although it destroys the metrical symmetry of the line and was made necessary only by the insertion of 18.

Let all his

crea

tures in heaven and in earth unite in praising the

divine

King

Jehovah's

com

plete knowledge of man

The impossibility

of escaping him

19He hath established his throne in the heavens;
And his dominion ruleth over all.
20Bless Jehovah, ye, his angels,

Ye mighty in strength who do his word."
21 Bless Jehovah, all ye his hosts,

Ye ministers of his, who do his pleasure.

22 Bless Jehovah, all ye his works,

In all places of his dominion;
Bless Jehovah, O my soul.

§ 101. God's Omniscience and Immanence, Ps. 139

Ps. 139 1O Jehovah, thou hast searched me and known me,
"Thou knowest my sitting down and mine uprising,
Thou readest my thought" afar off.

"Thou determinest' my path and my lying down,
Thou art acquainted with all my ways.
"Verily there is not a word on my tongue

But thou, O Jehovah, knowest well!
"Behind and before thou dost enfold" me,
Over me thou hast laid thy hand.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain to it.

"Whither can I go from thy spirit,

Or whither can I flee from thy presence?
"If I ascend up into the heaven, thou art there,"
If I make Sheol my bed, lo, thou art there;
Should I take the wings of the morning,"
Should I dwell at the end of the sea,
10 Even there thy hand would grasp me,
Thy right hand would hold me fast.

"If I say, 'Surely the darkness will hide me,

10320 I. e., the angels.

P10320 So Syr. Heb. adds giving heed to the voice of his word.

§ 101 This ps. is a majestic monologue addressed to Jehovah. Its originality and depth of thought give it a unique place among Israel's lyrics. The famous Jewish commentator, Aben Ezra, called it the crown of the Psalter. Nowhere in the O.T. is the omniscience and immanence and unceasing care of God set forth more nobly. Amos, in 924, was the first of the prophets to declare that Jehovah's rule extended throughout the universe. In 13-15 there are traces of the Gk. scientific spirit. Unfortunately, the text in the latter part of the ps. is uncertain, owing to scribal errors. Possibly 19-24 are later additions. The ps. is individual. It probably comes from the Gk. period and shows the influence of the thought of the wise.

1392 Following the reading of certain MSS. and the demands of the context. possible reading is friends, but this is not supported by the parallelism.

1393 Or searchest out.

1395 The Heb. word also may mean beset.

Another

The Gk., Syr., and Lat. have a text meaning

to form. The context implies watchful care, not an antagonistic attitude.
t1396 Gk. and Syr., thy knowledge.

1398 For the same idea, cf. Am. 92.

1398 Lit., spread out Sheol, i. e., the lower world.
1399 Gk. and Syr., my wings to the dawn.

At any rate the antithesis is between the East,

represented by dawn, and the West, represented by the far-extending sea.
13910 Slightly correcting the Heb., which reads, lead.
1391 The meaning of the Heb. verb is not certain.

GOD'S OMNISCIENCE

And the night cast its curtain about me,' 12 Even the darkness, for thee, is not dark," But the night shineth as the day."

13 For it is thou who didst form my reins,

Thou screenedst me in the womb of my mother,

14Thou hast made me mysteriously and wonderfully,

Thou knowest my sould right well.

15 My frame was not hid from thee

At the time when I was made in secret,

And wrought in the depths of the earth.

His

crea

tion of man's body

His

omnis

cience

When as yet none of them were mine."

17How precious also are thy thoughts, O God!

How great is the sum of them all!i

When I awake I am still with thee.j

18If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand;

190 that thou wouldst slay the wicked, O God!
Depart from me therefore, ye bloody men;

20 For they speak against thee with wicked intent,
And thine enemies take thy name in vain.
21Do I not hate them, O Jehovah, who hate thee?k
And do I not loath those who rise up against thee?
22I hate them with perfect hatred,

They have become to me mine enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart,
Try me, and know my secrets,

24 And see if there be any wicked way
And lead me in the way everlasting.

in me,

13912 Or, is not too dark for thee. AmRV, hideth not from thee.

13912 A scribe has added in the Heb, the explanatory note, as the darkness as the light. The Gk. substitutes this for the preceding couplet.

b13914 A scribe has prefixed to this line I praise thee for, which destroys its logical and metrical unity.

13914 So Gk., Syr., and Lat. Heb., I am made. It also adds thy works.

d13914 A more literal but less metrical translation would be me, for the Heb. word is here used as a reflexive pronoun, as frequently.

13915 Possibly this line is secondary. It introduces an idea alien to Heb. thought. f13916 This vs. is doubtful. The Heb. is usually translated unformed substance or embryo. This translation fits the immediate context but is not supported by the following verb and pronominal suffix which are plural. The Heb. word is probably due to a confusion of the two Heb. words meaning all my days. At best the translation of the vs. is uncertain.

sense.

13918 Connecting the words to me or mine with the preceding line, as the metre requires. h13917 Again, as in 2, slightly revising the Heb., which reads, thy friends, but makes little

i13917 Lit., heads of them. The author probably had in mind the totals. Cf. Ps. 119160, The sum of thy word is truth, or Ex. 3012,

13918 This is scarcely an assertion of the belief in personal immortality, as it has sometimes been regarded, but of the conviction that, awake or asleep, Jehovah's care is ever about his children. k13921 Contrary to our more enlightened thought, the later Jews regarded hatred of Jehovah's enemies as a positive virtue.

Protestation of com

plete loyalty to him