THE TWENTY-THIRD PSALM 507 Thy yerde (rod) and thy staff they have comforted me. Thou hast made ready a boord (table) in my sight against them that trouble me. Thou hast made fat mine head with oil, and my cup, filling greatly, is full clear. And thy mercy shall sue (follow) me in all the days of my life, and that I dwell in the house of the Lord into the length of days. And now, leaping across the centuries, let us come to Coverdale. I quote from the version printed in the Great Bible of 1539. The Lord is my shepherd, therefore can I lack nothing. He shall feed me in a green pasture, and lead me forth beside the waters of comfort. He shall convert my soul, and bring me forth in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me: thy rod and thy staff comfort me. Thou shalt prepare a table before me against them that trouble me: thou hast anointed my head with oil, and my cup shall be full. But (thy) lovingkindness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. The language of the Authorized Version is more nearly approached in the rendering of the Geneva Bible of 1560—a version which held its own in England for many years. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to rest in green pasture, and leadeth me by the still waters. He restoreth my soul, and leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I should walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me: thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou dost prepare a table before me in the sight of mine adversaries; thou dost anoint mine head with oil, and my cup runneth over. Doubtless kindness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall remain a long season in the house of the Lord. The Bishops' Bible of 1568 was the translation of which the Authorized Version was to be the revision. But in this Psalm the Authorized Version is more like the Geneva rendering. But the Bishops' Bible has one or two good touches. 'Felicity' well expresses the meaning in the last sentence. God is my shepherd, therefore I can lack nothing. He will cause me to repose myself in pastures full of grass, and he will lead me into calm waters. He will convert my soul; he will bring me forth into the paths of righteousness, for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff be the things that do comfort me. Thou wilt prepare a table before me in the presence of mine adversaries; thou hast anointed my head with oil, and my cup shall be brimful. Truly felicity and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of God for a long time. Now finally here is the Authorized Version itself, from which (as will be seen) I have made few changes. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. It may be added that the Revised Version of 1885 made only two slight changes in this Psalm, substituting guideth' for the second leadeth' (there are two different words in the Hebrew also), and 'hast anointed' for anointest.' 6 § 4. The twenty-third Psalm in Scotland.-I cannot leave this twenty-third Psalm without saying a word of its place in the religious history of Scotland. Mr. Ker has said: Every line, every word of it, has been engraven for generations on Scottish hearts, has accompanied them from childhood to age, from their homes to all the seas and lands where they have wandered, and has been to a multitude no man can number, the rod and staff of which it speaks, to guide and guard them in dark valleys, and, at last, through the darkest.' To Scotsmen it is most familiar in the metrical version still used beyond the Tweed. The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want. He makes me down to lie In pastures green; he leadeth me The quiet waters by. My soul he doth restore again, And me to walk doth make Yea, though I walk in death's dark vale, For thou art with me; and thy rod My table thou hast furnishèd In presence of my foes; My head thou dost with oil anoint, And my cup overflows. Goodness and mercy all my life Shall surely follow me; And in God's house for evermore § 5. Psalm twenty-seven (a): 'Dominus illuminatio mea.'-My next Psalm in this group is the first part of Psalm xxvii, the present conclusion of which, set in so wholly different a key, we have already 'THE LORD IS MY LIGHT' 509 heard. Note how closely the material Temple and the spiritual communion which that Temple has suggested and inspired are fused together. Let us hope that the modern synagogue suggests a similar fusion of the material and the spiritual to many a pious worshipper to-day. The Lord is my light and my salvation; The Lord is the fortress of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? If the wicked come near to me to eat my flesh, Even my enemies and my foes, they stumble and fall. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart would not fear: Though war should rise against me, still would I be confident. One thing have I asked of the Lord, that do I seek. To dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the graciousness of the Lord, and to contemplate his temple. For in the time of trouble he hideth me in his booth: In the covert of his tent he concealeth me; He setteth me up upon a rock. So shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: I will offer in his tent sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will make melody unto the Lord. The booth and the tent (in lines twelve and thirteen) are not to be taken literally. They are clearly metaphorical. The house and the 'temple' are betwixt and between. It is in the Temple that the Psalmist, as Professor Cheyne says, 'has learned what communion with God means, and he feels towards the Temple as a child towards its mother.' But, like the author of the previous Psalm, what he desires is to be always in God's house, and this can hardly mean anything less than a desire to feel God always near him and about him, even as he has been conscious of his presence within the Temple. The opening words of this Psalm, in their Latin rendering, are the motto of the University of Oxford. God is the author of knowledge as well as the source of love: The Lord is my light,' 'Dominus illuminatio mea.' § 6. The sixty-third Psalm.-The next Psalm (lxiii) is again a wonderful instance of the purest spirituality suggested or fostered by a local and material cause. The singer is far from the Temple wherein he had been wont to realize the magic of the divine communion. Here his thirst for God had from time to time been satisfied. Thus to dwell far from the Temple is to him as if he dwelt in a 'dry and thirsty land where no water is.' But as he thinks about God, whose lovingkindness he describes in a strange and striking phrase as 'better than life,' though the consciousness of it is the highest life, he becomes aware that whether he is near to or far from the Temple, he need never be far from God. Therefore he bursts forth into glad exultation as in the realized nearness to God he finds his highest satisfaction. O God, thou art my God; earnestly do I seek thee: So will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness; And meditate on thee in the night watches. For thou hast been my help, And in the shadow of thy wings do I rejoice. My soul clingeth fast unto thee: Thy right hand upholdeth me. It is possible that the fourth to the ninth line should rather be rendered thus:— As I saw Thee in the sanctuary, Beholding thy power and thy glory For thy lovingkindness is better than life, So will I bless thee while I live, I will lift up my hands to call on thy name. §7. The eighty-fourth Psalm: 'Quam dilecta.'-The last Psalm in this group is the eighty-fourth. It is in many respects parallel to that Psalm of exile from Jerusalem to which we listened in Group I. As there (xlii) the Psalmist's soul panted after God, like the hart after the water-brooks, so here too his 'soul longs and 'THE COURTS OF THE LORD' 511 faints for the courts of the Lord.' But the former Psalm was a cry of sorrow; this seems to be a cry of joy. It is the song of pilgrims who come up to pay their vows, or to join in the celebration of the high festivals, at the Temple of Jerusalem. It is a great pity that the text of this lovely Psalm should be so uncertain and defective. How lovely are thy dwelling-places, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: My heart and my flesh cry aloud unto the living God. Even the sparrow hath found an house, And the swallow a nest for herself, where she layeth her young, Even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, My King and my God. (?) Happy are they that dwell in thy house: They will be still praising thee. Happy is the man whose strength is in thee; As they pass through the vale of Baca he maketh it full of fountains for them, (?) The early rain covereth it with blessings. (?) O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer: Behold, O God, our shield, And look upon the face of thine anointed. For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand elsewhere, I had rather lie at the threshold of the house of my God, Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield: The Lord will give grace and glory: No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, Happy is the man that trusteth in thee. 'Even the sparrow.' If the text is not incomplete, the meaning is, The Temple is so desirable a place that the very birds have |