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Unreliability

of man

God's steadfastness

His kind

ness

to the needy

Epilogue

His restoration of his scattered people

His

rule in heaven and

among

men

Put not your trust in princes,
Nor in son of man, who is helpless,a
*Because he returneth to the earth,b
And all his thoughts do perish.

"Happy is he whose help is Jacob's God,
Whose hope is in Jehovah his God,
"The maker of heaven and earth,
Of the sea, and all that in them is,
Who keepeth faithfulness forever,
"Who doeth justice to the oppressed,
Who giveth food to the hungry.

Jehovah, who looseth the prisoners,
8Jehovah who openeth blind eyes,

Jehovah who raiseth up those bowed down,
Jehovah who loveth the righteous,
"Jehovah who preserveth the sojourners,

He upholdeth the fatherless and widow,

But the way of the wicked he maketh crooked.

10 Jehovah will reign forever,

Thy God, O Zion, to all generations.

§ 86. Jehovah's Gracious and Omnipotent Power, Ps. 1471-11

Ps. 147 1Praise Jehovah, for it is good,d

Make melody to our God, for it is pleasant."
2Jehovah doth build up Jerusalem,

He gathereth the outcasts of Israel,

"He healeth the broken-hearted,
And bindeth up their painful wounds.

"He counteth the number of the stars,
He giveth names to all of them,

5Great is our Lord, and of mighty power,
His understanding is infinite.

1463 Lit., to whom there is no help.

b1464 So I Mac. 263b and the requirements of the metre.
returneth.
1469 The line is based on Ps. 16, Job 83, 3412, and Ecc. 713.
loosely connected with its context.

Heb., his breath goeth forth, he

It may be secondary, for it is

$86 Ps. 147 contains two originally independent poems. They are still separate in the Gk. but have been united in the Heb., probably because they deal with the same theme and in very much the same way. Briggs (cf. Duhm's order: 1-3, 6, 7, 4, 5, 8-11) also finds two poems in 1-6 and 7-11; but 7-9 and 4-6 are too closely parallel in thought to be separated and 1-11 makes a complete and logical literary unit. Like the other hymns of thanksgiving in this collection, it was probably first sung to celebrate the Maccabean victories.

d1471 Slightly revising the Heb. as the context and parallelism demand.

1471 A scribe has added from 331, praise is comely. Gk., praise is comely for our God.

JEHOVAH'S OMNIPOTENT POWER

6Jehovah is the restorer of the afflicted,

He casteth down the wicked to earth.

"Sing to Jehovah with thanksgiving,

Make melody upon the harp to our God,

8Who covereth the heavens with clouds,
Who prepareth rain for the earth,

Who maketh the mountains put forth verdure,
"He giveth to the beast his food,

To the young ravens when they cry.

10 He delighteth not in the strength of the horse,
He taketh no pleasure in a man's legs;

"Jehovah taketh pleasure in his worshippers,"

In those who wait for his lovingkindness.

§ 87. Jehovah's Gracious Rule in Nature and in Israel's History, Ps. 14712-20

Ps. 147 12Praise Jehovah, O Jerusalem,

Praise thy God, O Zion;

13 For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates,
He hath blessed thy children in thy midst.

14 He maketh thy borders peace;

He satisfieth thee with the finest of the wheat.

15He sendeth his command to the earth,h
His word runneth very swiftly.

16He giveth snow like wool,

He scattereth the hoar-frost like ashes.

17 He casteth down his ice like morsels,

The waters stand before his cold.i

18 He sendeth out his word and melteth them,

He causeth his wind to change and the waters flow.j

19 He declareth his word to Jacob,

His statutes and his ordinances to Israel.

20 He hath not dealt so with any other nation,
And his judgments they know not.

Provisions for need of animal world

His delight in his wor

shippers

His provisions for his people

His rule in nature

His especial revelation to Israel

11478 Or, revising, he maketh verdure grow on the mountains. 814710 Lit., those who fear him.

§ 87 This little liturgical ps. is richly suggestive of the spirit of the Jews in the days of Simon, when at last they were at comparative peace with the ring of attacking foes which in the earlier days of the Maccabean struggle had enmeshed them, 14. It voices the satisfaction and thanksgiving with which they viewed their unwonted prosperity.

h14715 Cf. Gen. 1 for the same idea of Jehovah's rule by command.

114717 Restoring the Heb. as the next line demands, for it implies that the waters had been frozen by the cold. 114818 A change of the wind from the north to the east or south (the direction of the hot desert) brings a sudden rise of temperature in Palestine.

All that is in the heavens

All on earth

Exordium

§ 88. Call to All Created Things to Praise Jehovah, Ps. 148

Ps. 148 1Praise ye Jehovah from the heavens,

Praise him on the heights.

2Praise him, all his angels,

Praise him, all his host.

3Praise him, sun and moon,

Praise him, all ye stars of light.

"Praise him, ye heavens of heavens,

And ye waters that are above the heavens.
"Let them praise the name of Jehovah,

For he commanded, and they were created,
"And he hath established them forever and ever,
He hath given a statute not to be transgressed.<

"Praise Jehovah from the earth,
Ye monsters of the sea and all deeps,
"Fire and hail, snow and vapor,
Storm wind, fulfilling his word,
"Ye mountains and all ye hills,
Fruit trees and all ye cedars,
10 Wild animals and all ye cattle,
Creeping things and flying birds,
11Kings of the earth and all peoples,
Princes and all judges of the earth,
12Both young men and maidens,
Old men and children;

13 Let them praise the name of Jehovah,
For his name is exalted on high,

His majesty is over earth and heaven,
14 And he hath lifted up the horn of his people.1
He is the praise of all his faithful ones,

Of the Israelites, a people which is near to him.

§ 89. Thanksgiving for Recent Victories, Ps. 149

Ps. 149 1Sing to Jehovah a new song,

And his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
2Let Israel rejoice in his Maker,

Let the sons of Zion exult in their King.

§88 This ps. is an expansion of Ps. 10321. 22. It is further expanded in the Song of the Three Children. It is based on Gen. 1. Its broad outlook suggests the Greek or Maccabean period. Its place at the close of the Psalter indicates that it was one of the seven doxologies added to the earlier collections of hymns by the final editors of the book of Psalms.

k1486 Or, slightly revising, which they may not transgress.

114814 I. e., given them might to repel and overthrow their foes.

§89 Vs. well describes the author of this Maccabean ps., who was one of the Hasideans or faithful and who probably carried a two-edged sword in the wars of Judas and Simon.

THANKSGIVING FOR RECENT VICTORIES

"Let them praise his name in the dance,

Make melody to him with timbrel and lyre.

"For Jehovah delighteth in his people,
He adorneth the afflicted with victory.
"Let the faithful exult in glory,

Let them sing for joy on their beds.

"Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,"
And a two-edged sword in their hand,

"To execute vengeance on the heathen,
And punishment on the peoples,

To bind their kings with chains,

And their nobles with fetters of iron,

"To execute on them the judgment written;"
It is an honor for all his faithful ones.

§ 90. The Great Doxology, Ps. 150

Ps. 150 1Praise God for his holiness,
Praise him for the display of his power,

2Praise him for his deeds of might,

Praise him for the abundance of his greatness.

"Praise him with the blast of the horn,

Praise him with harp and lyre,

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"Praise him with timbrel and dance,

Praise him with strings and pipe,
"Praise him with sounding cymbals,
Praise him with clashing cymbals.

"Let everything that hath breath praise Jehovah!

m 1496 Lit., in their throat.

1499 Not only in such books as Dt., but in the prophecies like Ezek. 38, 39, Is. 4115, Mic. 413, and Zech. 14.

$90 This highly liturgical ps. was written as a closing doxology to the entire Psalter. It therefore corresponds to the shorter doxologies appended to the earlier collections. Cf. 4113, 7218-20, 8952, and 10648. It may be dated about 140 B.C.

1501 Lit., the spreading out of.

In unison

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