at Thy chiding, O Jehovah,

then were there seen the depths of the sea,

and the foundations of the earth were laid bare,

at the blast of the breath of Thy nostrils!

He putteth down His hand from on high and taketh me up, and draweth me out of many waters;

16

He delivereth me from my cruel enemy,

17.

from them that hate me, for they be too strong for me:

they fell upon me in the day of my trouble; but then Jehovah was my stay,

18

He brought me forth into a place of liberty,

19

yea, He bringeth me forth because He loveth me.

V. for according to the character of every man, so doth God reveal Himself unto him; Jehovah rewardeth me after my righteous dealing,

20

according to the cleanness of my hands doth He recompense me,

because I have kept the way of Jehovah,

and have not forsaken my God, as the wicked doth;

21.

and so Jehovah rewarded me after my righteous dealing according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

24

VI.

25

To the holy Thou shewest Thyself holy,

and upright towards the upright man;

Ver. 19. a place of liberty is opposed to the narrow abyss in which the Psalmist had lain. Cp. § 57. xxxi. 9, 'Thou hast not delivered me into the hand of the enemy-Thou hast set my feet in a large room;' and Job xxxvi. 16, 'He would have removed thee out of a strait into a broad place, where there is no straitness.'

Ver. 23. mine iniquity, i. e. the sin which most easily besets me.

Ver. 25. shewest Thyself. That God's revelation of Himself in the soul and in the world depends upon the character of man, and that man's conception of God rises or falls with his moral life, is a decree of eternal justice. The converse of this, that our moral nature rises or falls with our conception of God is equally true: for 'man must needs assimilate himself to what he worships.' This is well expressed by Professor Kingsley: 'It makes him at

to the pure Thou shewest Thyself pure,

26

and to the froward as full of frowardness: yea, Thou helpest them that are bowed down,

27

and bringest down the high looks of the proud;

Thou also makest my candle to shine:

28

Jehovah is my God: He maketh my darkness to be light!

for in Thee I scatter hosts of men,

29

and with the help of my God I leap over their walls;

as for God, His way is upright,

30

the word of Jehovah is tried in the fire.

He is a shield to all them that trust in Him!

VII. and giveth David strength to subdue his enemies and make the nations tributary. For who is God save Jehovah,

31

who is a rock except our God?

He is the God that hath girded me with strength,

32

and cleared my way before me,

He made my feet like harts' feet,

333

and setteth me upon the high places of the land;

He traineth mine hands to war,

34

so that mine arms should bend even a bow of steel;

Thou hast given me the shield of Thy salvation,

35

Thy right hand upholdeth me,

Thy graciousness doth lift me up!

VIII.

Thou hast made room enough under me for me to go,

that my footsteps slip not;

I follow after mine enemies and overtake them,

and turn not again till I have destroyed them,

36

37

last like the false God whom he is preaching (for every man at last copies the God in whom he believes), dark and deceiving, proud and cruel.'

cleared my way, i. e. let nothing hinder me in marching against mine enemies. Ver. 33. high places of the land. The armies of the Israelites consisted entirely of infantry at this time, and the possession of the heights secured the possession of the country. Ver. 35. graciousness, i.e. Thou stoopest to make me great.

yea, until I have smitten them that they cannot stand,

but fall under my feet!

for Thou girdest me with strength unto the battle, Thou bowest down mine enemies under me; Thou madest my foes to turn their backs before me, as for them that hate me, I utterly destroy them.

IX.

They cry aloud, but there is none to help them,

yea, even to Jehovah, but He doth not hear;

so that I beat them small as the dust of the earth,
and stamp them under foot as the mire of the streets!
Thou deliverest me from the strivings of the people,

Thou preservest me to be head over the nations;
a people whom I knew not do me service;
at the hearing of the ear, they are obedient unto me,
even the sons of strangers do me homage,
yea, the sons of strangers fade away,

they come forth trembling from their strongholds !

X. The Psalmist returneth to the praise of God, his deliverer.

Long live Jehovah! blessed be my rock,

and praised be the God of my salvation! even the God that saw that I was avenged, and subdued the nations. under me;

it is Thou who deliverest me from my enemies,

yea, and settest me up above mine adversaries,

and riddest me from the violent man!

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

therefore do I praise Thee, O Jehovah, among the nations, 50 and play and sing praise unto Thy name!

great prosperity giveth He unto His king,

and sheweth loving-kindness to His Anointed,
unto David and his seed for ever!

Ver. 49. the violent man, i. e. the kings of the heathen.

51

HE occasion of this Psalm is undoubtedly to be sought in the history of Bathsheba.

THE

Secrecy shrouded the king's sin for a time and prevented it from producing any affect in the world without. Within himself it bore its natural fruits, anguish of soul and body2, until his slumbering conscience was at length aroused by the apologue of the prophet. The peace and cheerfulness3 which followed his confession of guilt and the prophet's assurance of divine pardon, are known to every one from the history, but the previous effects of the sin upon the Psalmist's heart find no record but here1.

This Psalm from its penitential character is often classed with the 51st, from which in many important features it is entirely different. The 51st was composed during the very bitterness of a struggle in the soul, abounds in personal experience, and is a confession of sin still unforgiven. Here the conflict is over, and the personal experience is introduced solely to impart to the world the eternal truths impressed on the Psalmist's soul: he has learnt that it is the privilege of man, as a being endowed with reason, to live in communion with God, and that there is no happiness for man without openness before God, and truthful dealing with his own soul.

I. The Psalmist declareth the blessing of openness before God; Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,

and whose sin is covered:

blessed is the man to whom Jehovah imputeth no guilt, and in whose spirit is no self-deceiving.

II. .quoteth his own experience;

While I held my tongue, my bones consumed away

through my daily complaining;

for Thy hand was heavy upon me day and night,
my moisture became like the drought in summer.

1 2 Sam. xxii. 12.

4 vv. 3 and 4.

2 v. 3. 5 875.

3 vv. 1, 2, and 6.

6 v. 10.

I

2

3

I acknowledge my sin unto Thee and hide not my guilt,
I said, 'I will confess my faults to Jehovah,'
and so Thou forgavest the wickedness of my sin.

III. exhorteth all to turn to God,

5

6

For this let every good man pray to Thee when thou mayest 7

be found;

for though the waterfloods be high,

they shall not come nigh him.

THOU art my hiding-place, Thou shalt preserve me from trouble, 8

Thou shalt encompass me about with songs of deliverance.

X will teach thee, saith Jehovah, and shew thee the way

wherein thou shouldest go,

and E will guide thee with Mine eye.

IV. and not to withstand Him.

9

Be not ye like to horse and mule, which have no under- 10

standing!

his mouth must be held with bit and bridle,

who doth not approach Thee willingly.

Great plagues hath the ungodly,

but whoso putteth his trust in Jehovah mercy embraceth

him on every side.

Be glad, O ye righteous, and rejoice in Jehovah,

be joyful all ye that are true of heart.

Ver. 6. and Thou forgavest, i.e. Thou didst wash out the guilt of my sin.

THIS

§ 14. PSALM III.

II

12

HIS Psalm was written by David in an hour of peril and persecution1 after the ark had been long established in Jerusalem2. It expresses his feelings at the time of Absalom's rebellion and possibly was sung on the very morning3 that followed his flight from the city.