Exordium Jeho vah's incomparable character Invincible Creator Mighty yet just "Jehovah giveth strength to his people; Jehovah blesseth his people with peace. § 94. Jehovah's Incomparable Love, Faithfulness, and Might, Ps. 891, 2, 5-16 Ps. 89 1I will sing of the lovingkindness of Jehovah forever, "The heavens give thanks for thy wonders, O Jehovah; And to be feared aboves all those who are around about him! Thy lovingkindness, O Jehovah, and thy faithfulness surround thee! "It is thou who rulest the pride of the sea; When the waves arise, it is thou who stillest them. 10Thou didst break Rahabu in pieces, as one that is slain.▾ Thou hast scattered thine enemies with the arm of thy strength. 11The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine; The world and its fulness, it is thou who hast founded them. 12The north and the south, it is thou who hast created them, Tabor and Hermon rejoice in thy name. 13Thou, indeed, hast an arm endued with might, Strong is thy hand, and exalted thy right hand. 14Righteousness and justice are the foundation of thy throne; § 94 As has been already noted, § 38, Ps. 89, contains an early post-exilic ps. to which a later psalmist has added the present hymn of adoration in order to adapt the whole to liturgical use. Its literary affinities are with the late post-exilic writings: II Is., Zech., and Job, e. g., the use of the term holy ones to designate angels, 5, 7. Cf. Job 51, 1515, Zech. 145. Its background is the period of hopefulness and quiet following the work of Nehemiah. It belongs, therefore, to the last half of the Persian or the earlier part of the Gk. period. 892 Through a scribal error the Gk. and Lat., thou hast said, required at the beginning of 3 as it now stands, has been transferred to the beginning of 2. Also in the editorial revision of the ps. it has been changed to, for I said; also an original, by thy mouth or command, now reads, by my command, and has been connected by the Massoretic editors with the end of 1 rather than with the beginning of 2 as the metre and parallelism require. P892 So Gk. and Syr. Heb., is established. $897 Restoring the Heb. with the aid of the Gk. 898 Emending the practically impossible Heb. by the aid of the well-established parallelism. u 8910 A reference to the ancient Semitic myth which told of Jehovah's contest at creation with the great monster that represented chaos. Cf. Job 913, 2612. 8910 Lit., pierced through. w8910 The enemies were probably the malignant spirts that were represented as supporting Rahab. JEHOVAH'S LOVE AND FAITHFULNESS 15Happy is the people that know the joyful sound,x The happi ness of his wor shippers And in thy righteousness are they exalted. § 95. God's Goodness Revealed in the Works of Creation, Ps. 104 Ps. 104 'Bless, Jehovah, O my soul! O Jehovah, my God, thou art very great; 2Who puttest on light as a mantle, Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain, "Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters, Who maketh the clouds his chariot, Who walketh upon the wings of the wind, 4Who maketh the winds his messengers, Fire and flame are his ministers. "Thou didst lays the earth upon its foundations, That it should not be moved forever. "Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment;b "At thy rebuke they fled; At the sound of thy thunder they hasted away, "That they may not pass over the bound thou hadst set, "The mountains rose, the valleys sank, To the place which thou hadst founded for them. 8915 I. e., of the trumpets and melody in connection with the worship of Jehovah at his temple. y 8916 I. e., Jehovah's people join with the two chief mountains of Palestine, cf. 12, in praising his character. § 95 The poet, in 34, describes this ps. as a meditation and expresses the hope that it will be sweet to Jehovah. The description is felicitous. It is one of several pss. which reveal the impression that the contemplation of nature made on the deeply religious Heb. mind. The psalmist also had before his mental vision Gen. 1 and 2 in their present composite form, Is. 4022, Job 386-11 so that he probably lived in the Gk. period. It is possible that it was written by a Jew who had visited or resided in Egypt, for it resembles at many points the famous hymn of Amenhotep IV, the great reforming king of Egypt. Cf. Introd., p. 38. Breasted, Hist. of Eg., 371-376. It is also possible that the poet passes abruptly, as in 3, 13, to the third person under the influence of the older Egyptian hymn. The psalmist shares the common Semitic conception of the universe: the earth is a great plain above which rises the firmament with the sun, moon, and stars. All these are encircled by waters. In the waters above the earth is heaven, the divine chambers in which God dwells and from which he descends on the wind-driven clouds. 1044 Revising the Heb. slightly as the context implies. Trad. Heb., fire of flame. a 1045 Lat. and Targ. carry on the preceding construction. The above reading is supported by the parallelism. b1046 Or, revising the text, the deep-like a garment was it covered, or, the deep covered it as with a garment. The idea is that the chaos of waters covered the entire earth. 1047 The immediate and logical sequel of 7 is 9. Vs. 9 after 8 is impossible, for the mountains and valleys could not return to cover the earth as had the waters. After 9 vs. 8 completes the picture of creation. These vss. were transposed because a Heb. scribe confused the somewhat similar initial words in each. Vs. 8b is usually regarded as the sequel of 7, but its verb does not apply to waters, but solid bodies, as in 5. In the heavens In the work of creation In supplying water In providing food for beasts and men Shelter for the animal world In the changing seasons In the sea and its inhabi tants 20It is hed who sendeth springs into the valleys, 11They give drink to every beast of the field; 12By them the birds of the heavens dwell, 13He it is who watereth the mountains from his chambers; 14He causeth grass to spring up for the cattle,f And bread that strengtheneth man's heart. 16The trees of Jehovah are full of sap, The cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted, The stork hath her home in the fir trees, 19He appointeth the moon for seasons, And seek their food from God.h 22 When the sun ariseth they gather themselves, And to his labori until evening. 240 Jehovah, how manifold are thy works! Wherein are things crawling, innumerable, 26Leviathan, which thou hast made to play with. d 10410 Possibly the direct address was originally used throughout this ps. 10412 Probably the order is correct: the streams and the vegetation. 110414 Cf. Gen. 317-19. 8 10416 I. e., the great trees like the cedars of Lebanon. b 10421 As in Job 3841, the beasts look to God as the ultimate source of their supply. i10423 Following the superior Gk. and the demands of the context. Heb., riches. This reading is due to a slight verbal error. 10425 Or, gliding, i. e., all kinds of fish and small sea life. k10426 The next vs. indicates that the poet is still describing God's creatures. The initial line, there go the ships, appears to be from a later scribe who associated ships with the sea. GOD'S WORKS OF CREATION 27These all wait for thee, That thou mayest give them their food in due season. 28 Thou givest to them, they gather it; Thou openest thy hand, they are well satisfied. 29Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled; Thou takest away their breath, they die.' 30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created; 31 Let the glory of Jehovah endure forever; 32 Who looketh on the earth, and it trembleth, He toucheth the mountains, and they smoke. 33I will sing to Jehovah as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have any being. 34 Let my meditation be sweet to him; I will find my joy in Jehovah. 35 Bless, Jehovah, O my soul." II JEHOVAH'S LOVING PROVISIONS FOR MAN II Sam. 2, Pss. 365-12, 65, 14412-15, 103, 139 § 96. Jehovah's Care for His People, I Sam. 2 I Sam. 2 1bMy heart exulteth in Jehovah, My horna is exalted through my God.b I rejoice in the deliverance thou hast wrought. 110429 A scribe familiar with Ecc. has added and return to the dust. m 10430 I. e., as at creation thou dost cause the earth to be covered with living things. 10431-34, 35 This closing refrain was probably added to adapt the ps. to liturgical use. A Maccabean scribe has also added: Let sinners be consumed out of the earth, And let the wicked be no more. These lines reflect an entirely different spirit from that which pervades the ps. and reveals the point of view of the Maccabean age, for sinners probably refers to the foes of the Jews. $96 This poem does not fit in the mouth of Hannah, for it is a national rather than an individual ps. A later editor placed it in the Samuel history because of the allusion in 5e to "the barren that hath borne seven." The reference does not apply to Hannah but is rather a common Semitic figure of prosperity. The reference in 10 is apparently to a messianic king. The absence of such allusions in the literature following the deposition of Zerubbabel after the rebuilding of the second temple in 516 B.C. and the prominence of those hopes in the years immediately preceding favor the conclusion that this ps. comes from the days of hopefulness and keen expectancy immediately following the stirring sermons of Haggai in 520 B.C. On the other hand, the references to the godly, the afflicted, and the arrogant point to a date nearer the middle of the Persian period. In any case the ps. is probably post-exilic. Its style is simple and direct. Its faith is strong and its teachings resemble those of the book of Proverbs. Its influence on the Magnificat is obvious. Cf. Lk. 146-53 21 Cf., for the same figure, Ps. 9210. The horn was the symbol of the power to accomplish. b21 So Gk., Luc., Lat., and many MSS. Heb., in Jehovah. e21 Lit., is enlarged. Cf. Is. 574. d22 So Gk. and Luc. In the Heb. the for has been transposed to the second line. e22 Following the text suggested by the Gk. and Luc., which is strongly supported by the parallelism and metrical structure. Heb., for there is none beside thee. In his care for all created things May Praise to Jehovah 123 So Gk. The Heb. has an unnecessary repetition which is out of harmony with the regular metrical structure of the poem. 23 The standard Heb. text is probably corrupt. It might read, And evil actions are not right, lit., adjusted (to the standard). The marginal reading and a slightly corrected Heb. text give the above reading. This text may have been before the translators of Gk. and Luc., which read, a God who weigheth actions. The meaning at least is the same. are not found in the Gk. and For the pillars of the earth are Jehovah's, And he hath set the world upon them, break the close sequence of thought between the preceding line and. It seems clear, therefore, that they are a later addition, as is also the corresponding Gk. rendering, Granting the prayer to the one who prays, And blessing the righteous with years. The latter evidently aimed to adapt the ps. to its present literary setting. 129 This line is lacking in the Gk. and Luc. It may also be a later addition. m 210 Correcting the Heb. with the aid of the Gk. 210 Gk., He hath gone up into the heavens and thundered. A possible correction of the text reads, The Almighty in heaven will destroy them. 210 Lit., ends of the earth. |