INTRODUCTION

bitterness of his soul when the Ziphites betrayed him; Ps. lvii. and cxlii., composed "in the cave" of Adullam or Engedi, alternate between sense of danger and confidence of faith in God. Through these it has been remarked that there run certain general characteristics-an abruptness and vividness of style, a strong sense of innocence, a certain fierceness of wrath against his enemies, and an almost unclouded trust in God.

The second class of Psalms refer to the period of his greatness and prosperity. With the bringing up of the Ark it is impossible not to associate Ps. xxiv. ("Lift up your heads, O ye gates"), Ps. xv. ("Who shall ascend unto the hill of the Lord?"), and the magnificent Ps. lxviii. ("Let God arise "), which actually takes its motto from the words used at the setting out of the Ark in the wilderness (Num. x. 35). Ps. lx. marks the decisive struggle against the Syrians (see 2 Sam. x. 6-19). To the completion of victories (see 2 Sam. xxii. 1) clearly belongs Ps. xviii.-a Te Deum of triumphant thanksgiving ("I will praise thee, O God, my strength"); and perhaps also Ps. xx. and xxi., full of trust in God in the hour of battle, and of the blessing and triumph of the King. To the time of the promise of 'the sure mercies of David" (2 Sam. vii. 12-27), Ps. cx. ("Jehovah said unto my Lord") must be referred. Ps. ci. (the king's vow of mercy and judgment) marks the same time of prosperity and peace in the favour of God. Perhaps to this time also belongs Ps. xxx., connected in the heading with the "Dedication of the House," either his own house, or (as Jewish tradition has it) the site of the Temple on Mount Moriah after the numbering of the people. In all these may be noted greater perfection and maturity of style, a more kingly tone of dignity, and a deeper thought and intensity of devotion.

Other Psalms again belong to the last period of decline and decay after his great sin. Ps. li. declares itself expressly as the outpouring of godly sorrow, not without hope, in the hour of his repentance; and possibly to the same time may be referred Ps. xxxii., "Blessed is he whose unrighteousness is forgiven." Ps. vi., xxxviii., xxxix., xli., are all similarly Psalms of deep selfabasement and sorrow, indicating apparently special sickness and suffering, and full of marked reference to treason of trusted friends. They may well belong to the time of weakness and decay before the rebellion of Absalom, and indicate the treachery of false friends like Ahithophel. Ps. lii. is expressly referred to the flight from Absalom; and Ps. Ixiii. to the first halt in the "wilderness of Judah." Through all there runs a deeper and sadder tone, pathetic in sense of weakness and suffering, but yet with an underlying peace and hope. Like a gleam at sunset, after these come the "last words of David," not included in the Psalter (2 Sam. xxiii. 2-5), full of the sense of the unfailing glory and strength of righteousness, and the trust, even in defect therefrom, in the sure promise of God.

PSALMS OF ASAPH.-The Psalms of Asaph (whatever be the exact meaning of the title) have certainly marked characteristics of their own. They use the general name Elohim, instead of the deeper and more awful name Jehovah. They dwell especially (see Ps. lxxvii, 15; lxxxi. 5; lxxx. 1) on "Joseph" and Israel, as distinct from Judah, and in the last case on "Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasses," the tribes of the western camp in the wilderness, close to which the Gershonite Levites pitched (see Num. ii. 18-24; iii. 23); and in Ps. lxxviii. 67, 68 on the transference of the supremacy from Ephraim to Judah. They seem to have a meditative and thoughtful cast; as in Ps. lxxiii., putting before us the great problem of God's moral government, which forms the subject of the book of Job; and in the grand Psalm 1., urging the true spirituality of sacrifice and of covenant with God. They have frequently a national character, of lamentation in Ps. lxxiv., lxxix., lxxx., of triumph in Ps. lxxv., lxxvi., lxxxi. One is the first great historical Psalm (Ps. lxxviii.), surveying the story of Israel from the Exodus to the choice of David. Similarly Ps. lxxxiii., in prayer against a confederacy of enemies, chronicles God's deliverance from Sisera and from Midian in the ancient days of Gideon. Another is a grave didactic admonition (Ps. lxxxii.) to the judges of Israel. If they have not the depth and vigour of the Psalms of David, they suit well the grave authoritative character of the chief of the Levites and "the seer."

PSALMS OF THE SONS OF KORAH.-The Psalms of this family of Levites, and HEMAN their chief (Ps. xlii.-xlix., lxxxiv., lxxxv., lxxxvii., lxxxviii.), are, as perhaps might be expected, in the main Psalms not so much of personal devotion, as of national and ecclesiastical feeling, looking to God especially as the King of Israel. Thus Ps. xliv. is the cry to God in some national disaster; Ps. xlvi., xlvii., xlviii., form a group of thanksgivings to "God our hope and strength" in the hour of deliverance, when " He goes up with the sound of the trumpet," and "reigns over the heathen from His holy seat." Ps. xlv. is a Marriage Hymn (probably at the wedding of Solomon; Ps. lxxxiv. (" O how amiable are thy dwellings") is a song of devotion in the Temple; Ps. lxxxv. a thanksgiving to God for "turning away captivity;" and Ps. lxxxvii. a song of the glory of Zion "above all dwellings of Jacob." But in this group there are some deeply personal Psalms, one of which (Ps. lxxxviii.) is ascribed expressly to Heman. Ps. xlii., xliii. (which form really one Psalm) express the longing for God in exile from Him, with the burden, "Why art thou so cast down, O my soul... Put thy trust in God." Ps. xlix. is a pensive meditation on the vanity and transitoriness of all mortal things. Ps. lxxxviii. (greatly resembling some notable passages in the book of Job) is the cry of the dark hour, in sense of present sorrow, and in terror of the shadowy mystery of the world beyond the grave, and yet in a sad but stedfast trust in God. All three bear so strong a

INTRODUCTION

personal impress of pensiveness and of intense but not unclouded faith, that it is difficult not to refer all to one author.

These are closed by a long Psalm of ETHAN, head of the sons of Merari (Ps. lxxxix.), pleading the covenant of the sure mercies of David, and crying out through it for deliverance from humiliation and the burden of God's displeasure.

(III.) LATER GROUPS OF PSALMS.-Other marked groups, though not ascribed to any particular authors, may also be noted. Thus Ps. xci.-c. have been thought to form a group, some of the Psalms being actually connected together in the MSS.; and in these certain striking similarities to the latter part of the Book of Isaiah have been pointed out. (See the Introduction to the Psalter in the Speaker's Commentary.) They are almost entirely Psalms of glad confidence and thanksgiving. Ps. xci. breathes the faith in Him "who gives His angels charge over us;" Ps. xcii. (a "Psalm for the Sabbath") declares how good a thing it is to praise and bless God; Ps. xciii., xcvii., xcix., are all Psalms of Adoration, proclaiming that "the Lord is King" over Israel and over all the earth; Ps. xciv. is a confident invocation of Him "to whom vengeance belongeth;" Ps. xcv. is the great Psalm of Invitation to the Worship of the Lord, our Creator and our Father; Ps. xcvi., xcviii., call on us to "sing to the Lord the new Song" before the heathen and over all the earth; and Ps. c. is the traditional Psalm of Jubilation to God, because He is good and "His mercy endures from generation to generation."

Another similar group of Psalms are those of the GREAT HALLEL (cxiii.-cxviii.) used by the Jews at the three great Festivals, and the Feast of Dedication. These are naturally Psalms of Thanksgiving to the Lord for the House of Israel, and for the Priesthood, "the House of Aaron," with constant remembrance of His mercies of old. The first two Psalms (cxiii., cxiv.), sung together at an early stage of the Passover Feast, are simply an ascription of Praise to the Lord as the protector of the lowly, with reminiscences of the going forth of the Presence of the Lord, "when Israel went out of Egypt." The last four (Ps. cxv.-cxviii.), sung together at a later stage, begin (Ps. cxv.) with a contrast of the greatness of the Lord with the vanity of the idols of the heathen, and an exultant confidence in His promised blessing. Then (Ps. cxvi.) follows an expression of faith, even out of affliction and perplexity, an enquiry "What can I render to the Lord," and an offering to Him of the sacrifice of thanksgiving. To this succeeds (in Ps. cxvii.) a short concluding burst of Praise to the Lord before all nations. Finally, Ps. cxviii.-the "Hosanna" Psalm, especially appropriated to the exuberant thanksgiving of the Feast of Tabernacles, from which the cries of welcome at Our Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem were taken-presents in dramatic vividness the picture of a king, coming with his train to the Temple, welcomed by the Priests from within, and surrounded by the shouts of the people

from without, which hail him "who cometh in the Name of the Lord," and finally entering into the Temple to thank and praise the Lord as his God. The whole form a magnificent group of Psalms of Adoration and Praise, belonging in measure to the earthly kingdom, in perfection to the heavenly kingdom of the Messiah.

Another equally remarkable group is the series of SONGS OF DEGREES-that is properly, Songs of the Ascents," interpreted sometimes of Psalms sung on the broad steps of the Temple, but far more probably as the "Songs of the Goings up" of the Pilgrims to the Temple, first used in the gladness of its restoration after the Captivity. These are Psalms cxx.-cxxxiv.; two ascribed to David (Ps. cxxii., cxxiv.), one to Solomon (Ps. cxxvii.); but mostly of later date. They seem to fall into lesser groups, through which, amidst much variety of tone and idea, we trace indications of their general purpose. Thus Ps. cxx. is the utterance of the Pilgrim, who dwells amidst men of contention, and longs for peace in God; in Ps. cxxi. he lifts up his eyes to the hills of Jerusalem, and feels God's protection day and night in his approach to it; in Ps. cxxii. he stands in sight of the Holy City, glad to enter into the House of the Lord, and praying for the peace of Jerusalem. Again, Ps. cxxiii. is a cry of one despised and oppressed; Ps. cxxiv. (ascribed to David) of one against whom the waves of enmity break, but who is delivered by the Lord of heaven and earth; yet in Ps. cxxv. he looks on Jerusalem surrounded by the mountains, seeing in its position a type of the encompassing protection of God; and in Ps. cxxvi. exults in the turning of the Captivity of Zion, by which they who have sown in tears now reap in joy. Then the more reflective Ps. cxxvii. (ascribed to Solomon) is the declaration of the vanity of all human care, unless the Lord build the house and keep the city; succeeded by Ps. cxxviii., a Psalm of domestic joy and blessing for all who fear the Lord. Next we find a group of sadder tone; Ps. cxxix. is the prayer of the soul, persecuted but not forsaken, to the Lord, who will confound the enemies of His people; Ps. cxxx. (the De Profundis) is a cry of patient faith out of the very depths of sorrow and death; and Ps. cxxxi. throws the soul, like the "soul of the weaned child," upon the bosom of the Lord. Lastly, we have in Ps. cxxxii. the remembrance of the longing of David to build the house of the Lord, of the sure promise given to him, and the abundant blessing on priests and people in the Temple; Ps. cxxxiii. dwells on the glory of godly unity; and Ps. cxxxiv. is the final burst of praise and blessing from the servants of the Lord.

Besides these well-marked groups, there is an interesting succession of Psalms (cii.-cvii.), broken indeed by the division of the Fourth and Fifth books, but certainly having a remarkable coherence of idea. Thus Psalms cii., ciii. are the Psalms of the spiritual life of the individual; the one of "the afflicted pouring

INTRODUCTION

out his complaint before the Lord," and ending in faith in the Unchangeable God; the other of unclouded joy, praising the Lord for all His benefits, especially for His forgiveness, forbearance, and sympathy towards His weak and sinful children. Ps. civ. is the great "Psalm of Nature," following with wonder and thankfulness the marvellous order of Creation, and seeing God everywhere in His works. Ps. cv., cvi. are "Psalms of History," tracing out, from Abraham to the time of the Judges, in the wandering life of the Patriarchs, and in the history of the people in Egypt, in the wilderness, and in the Promised Land, the goodness of God, prevailing over the weakness and the sinfulness of man. Ps. cvii. is the "Psalm of Life "-a series of pictures of life's emergencies and trials, in exile, captivity, sickness, danger on the sea, fruitfulness or famine-not perhaps without reference to the history of Israel, but embracing the vicissitudes of human life as such, and ending each section with the burden, "O that men would therefore praise the Lord for His goodness!"

THE PSALMS IN THE JEWISH CHURCH.-Such were the original purpose and general character of the Psalms in the Jewish Church. It is impossible to doubt that, at least as much as any other element of the Old Testament, they told on the spiritual education of individuals, and the religious faith and character of the nation. They were the inspired response to the Prophetic teaching, showing the acceptance and understanding of the message of God. Thus, if it was a part of the Prophetic mission to teach obedience to the Law of God in the spirit and not in the letter, through love and not through fear, what can express the acceptance of that teaching more remarkably than the reiterated delight in "the statutes," "the commandments," "the testimonies," which pervades the great cxix. Psalm? If the Prophet taught the spiritual sacrifice of the soul, as contrasted with mere outward sacrifice and worship (as, for example, in Is. i. 10-20; Mic. vi. 6-8), the Psalms are the expression of desire to offer from the heart the sacrifice of thanksgiving (Ps. 1. 7-15), of penitence (Ps. li. 16, 17), and of obedience (Ps. xl. 8-13). If again the Prophet had to exalt Jehovah, as the only true King of Israel, of whom earthly kings were but the vicegerents, and to show that the strength of Israel lay in no material power, but in faithfulness to this religious allegiance, the Psalms (see Ps. xx., xxi., lvii., ci.) are full of the heartiest acknowledgment of this spiritual loyalty from kings and people alike. If the Prophets in their ministry to the future had to keep alive faith in the great Promise to Abraham and to David, by preparing for the coming of the Messiah, the Psalms, as will be seen hereafter, are full of Messianic anticipation, through the sense of that communion of humanity with God, of which the coming of the Messiah was to be the perfection. Everywhere the Psalm, like the Prophecy, is the recognition of the presence of God in the soul and of the devotion of the soul to Him. It may