7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

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8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

DID

mentions the interpr. "I have set," but wrongly illustrates from in Judg. xvi. 13, 14. The Targ. rends. "I have magnified," Syr. “I have established." The LXX. (reading 1 ) gives yo dè KATEσráðŋv Baσiλevs K.T.λ., and similarly Vulg., thus putting the ver. in the mouth of the king. This emendation is sufficiently condemned by the pronom. affix of "p which, usage tells us, must refer to God.

7. Rend. "I will tell of a decree: Jehovah said unto me, etc." Notice that both by position and accentuation the word Jehovah is emphatic, the signf. being--it is Jehovah and none other who on a past occasion (presumably that of Nathan's visit, 2 Sam. vii.) stablished this decree and made this promise. It is not requisite to regard a'sapp'râh as an optat. form, "Let me tell," or "I would fain tell," as Perowne. It is doubtful whether the termination âh is even intended to mark the optat. At all events in numerous cases no such force is given to the verb by this termination. The construction of sipper with el finds a true parallel in the use of âmar el in Gen. xx. 2, Jer. xxvii. 19, and of dibbêr el in Job xlii. 7. In lxix. 27, sippêr êl occurs again, but there the el introduces the end and object for the attainment of which discourse takes place, not as here the mere purport of discourse. The signf. of "Thou art my son," can be gathered from the fundamental passage 2 Sam. vii. where it is said of David's seed, "I will be his father, and he shall be my son;" cf. Ps. lxxxix. 27, "I will make him my firstborn,” and cx. 3b. The day on which the monarch becomes the adopted of Jehovah is here regarded as the day on which Jehovah begets him.

The Targ. gives "I will narrate the oath which Jehovah has uttered, 'Dear as a son to a father art thou to me, innocent as on the day when I created thee.""

In Acts xiii. 33 the words, "Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee," are treated as bearing special reference to the Resurrection (not to the "raising up" in the sense of "introduction" or "appointment") of the Messiah. This application is explained by the context of the Psalm. David claims the obedience of the nationalities on the ground of the decree which places him in a filial relation to Jehovah. And Christ's claim to the world's allegiance dates from

9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.

II Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

the time when He was manifested openly as Son of God. But that time is the day of His Resurrectioni, cf. ὁρισθέντος υἱοῦ Θεοῦ......ἐξ ȧvaσráσews veкpŵv, Rom. I. 4. Thus, the Eternity of Christ's Sonship notwithstanding, the time which answers to the day of such decree is the day of Resurrection. The correspondence traced out is, in fact, based not on being Son, but on being declared Son. Further than this indeed it could not go, since David's sonship only begins from the "day" named, but Christ's Sonship, no matter when declared to the world, is Eternal.

9. Here too the full significance of the decree made concerning David's house is recognised in the N. T., the descriptions of the sway of Christ and His Church in Rev. ii. 27, xii. 5, xix. 15, being based on this verse.

II. "Rejoice with trembling" if this be the right translation the signf. will probably be, rejoice that you are called to worship Jehovah, but worship Him with reverent awe. It is however at least possible that gîl (the fundamental meaning of which is “to be agitated,") may represent here the effects of fear rather than of joy. "Tremble ye in fearfulness" will then be the rendg. And, the awful character of the preceding verse considered, it is surely more natural that the rebels should be told to tremble rather than to rejoice before Jehovah. Gesen. notices that 7, commonly " to fear," denotes apparently joyful agitation in Is. lx. 5, Jer. xxxiii. 9; and 17 (cf. iv. 4) certainly represents commotion caused by fear as well as that caused by anger. The use of yagîloo in Hos. x. 5 perhaps supports the reference to fearful agitation.

The LXX. gives ἀγαλλιᾶσθε αὐτῷ ἐν τρόμῳ, Targ. “Pray to Him in fear." Syr. "Lay hold of Him in fear."

12. "Kiss the Son." We prefer to rend. the obscure and perplexing words ip, nashsh'koo bar, "Kiss ye the chosen one," understanding an act of homage (such as is apparently referred to in

1 This view is corroborated by the addition in Codex Bezae of our ver. 8 (aiтnσaι Tаρ aiμov kaι dwow σol evη, K.т,λ.) to the quotation in Acts. In Heb. v. 5, on the other hand, this passage is quoted merely as shewing that a Divine fiat is the basis of Christ's Priesthood and so the corresponding epoch in Christ's career does not come under consideration. So, too, in Heb. I. 5, where this passage only proves the fact that Christ is Son.

Gen. xli. 40) to be meant. prompt homage to Jehovah's elect representative, lest He [Jehovah] be roused to anger.

The Gentile rulers are advised to render

The Pi. of p, "to kiss" (prim. "to cleave to") is used in this signf. with ↳ of the object in Gen. xxxi. 28. It occurs in the Kal in re

idol-ritual twice, but there is no reason for believing that it can mean absolutely "to worship," and these passages are, if anything, against the reference to worship of the true Deity. The Pi. of the other Rt. p, "to arm oneself," does not occur. bar we understand to be the adject. derivative of elegit; which means primarily electus, then (cf. Cant. vi. 9) dilectus, then purus. Both Aq. and Symm. connected the word with this Rt., the former rends. Karapıλńσate ἐκλεκτῶς, the latter, προσκυνήσατε καθάρως. Jerome in his text gives "adorate pure," Rashi, "Arm yourselves with purity of heart,” and Kimchi understands the injunction to be "Do homage to me the pure of heart." The A. V. rendg. “son," has the support of the Syr., and of Ab. Ezra; and Jerome in his Commentary adopts the rendg. 66 Adorate filium." The great objection to this interpr. is that 73 in signf. "son," is unknown in Biblical Hebrew if we except Prov. xxxi. 2, which as Perowne admits is "manifestly a later passage and not free from other Chaldaisms." We grant that "is not to be regarded as a term of late origin, that it is in fact Phoenician as much as Chaldee." But this only removes a part of the difficulty. We have to account for the appearance of an obscure foreign term expressing a sense which can be well expressed in Hebrew. Of this we know of but one explanation with any show of reason, viz. that

might have been used instead of 1 to avoid the conjunction of the two like-sounding syllables, 12. The absence of the article tells rather in favour of the adjectival interpr.; the anarthrous defining adj. occurs frequently, e. g. iv. [4], v. [13], ix. [17], lxxii. 13: for the anarthrous subst. denoting office and title, xlv. [10] may perhaps be cited.

The LXX. gives dpáέaobe Taideías, and similarly Targ. p NEN, Vulg. "apprehendite disciplinam." The Arab. birrun, "obedience," illustrates this line of interpr. Cf. also the use of in this signf. in the Yalkut Shimônî on this passage, na ipw). Whatever view we take of here, the Messianic interpr. of the Psalm, which depends on the proleptic character of the Divine decree of vv. 7—9, is not affected. We may add however that "na, “My chosen," is perhaps a Messianic title in Is. xlii. 1.

"And ye perish, etc." way," or "on the way."

Lit. "and ye go astray with regard to the
Strictly speaking TN is to "roam-about,"

hence to "wander in confusion," "be lost," cf. i. 6, or more broadly "be confounded." The 77 is the evil course chosen by these men, the LXX.'s ἀπολεῖσθε ἐξ ὁδοῦ δικαίας is wrong.

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a little." But there is no

quickly") in this signf.

"When his wrath, etc.:" Rend. “for quickly is His anger kindled." is used with a verb in signf. instance of by ("almost," "suddenly," except quasi-adjectivally with a subst., and with a verb in such cumulative expressions as we find in Ezra ix. 8, Is. xxvi. 20. Suddenly," or quickly," appears therefore to be the signf. here, the clause indicating the jealous promptitude with which God executes His wrath on the contumacious. LXX. ὅταν ἐκκαυθῇ ἐν τάχει ὁ θυμὸς αὐτοῦ.

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INTRODUCTION TO PSALM III.

MORNING PRAYER IN TIME OF PERSECUTION.

"

TITLE. "A Psalm, to David, when he fled before Absalom his son. CERTAIN linguistic features (see iv. Introd.) connect Psalms iii. and iv. closely together, and indicate that they are the offspring of one and the same affliction. That affliction is, according to the Title of this Psalm, the rebellion of Absalom, and there is nothing in either Psalm inconsistent with this testimony. In both, as is customary in Psalms written under such circumstances, complaint blends with, and is eventually supplanted by, cheering convictions of Jehovah's saving power.

Verses 4, 8, of Psalm iv. shew that it is an evening hymn; the Psalm before us is shewn by verse 5 to be written at the close of a night spent in peril and yet in peace. The main divisions of this Psalm are well indicated by the three Selahs.

ORD, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that

L

rise up against me.

2 Many there be which say of my

I. a. Or "how many are." But either rendg. is allowable, for 27 and are interchangeable Roots, and it is unwarrantable to confine the signf. “to be many" to the former, "to increase” to the latter.

2. a. "Of my soul," A.V. rightly. Hebr. ", l'naphshî, l' being used as in Gen. xxvi. 7 and passim to denote "of" or "concerning."

soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.

3 But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of

mine head.

4 I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.

5 I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.

"My soul" is simply a paraphrase for "me," it does not by any means imply, as in our popular theology it would, "my inmost spiritual life," an interpr. upheld by Del. and Kay. Generally speaking nephesh in O. T. denotes either simply "the life" or the sensuous appetitive faculty, Aristotle's тò éπiðvμýtikov. It is in connexion with the former of these signfs. that it stands for the personal pronoun, see further ciii. I, note.

b. "Help" the word ny should probably be regarded as an emphatic or a poetical form of double feminine termination. That such forms generally have the accent thrown back may be perhaps only to prevent the concurrence of two toned syllables, cf. Пnty in xliv. [27], lxiii. [8], xciv. 17, in cxx. I. If this be not the case (cf. Job v. 16) the accent merely marks the penultimate as the original termination of the fem. noun-form.

3. a. "For me,” or perhaps "round about me,” for ¡D, as a subst. of surrounding, may like the verbs of surrounding (cf. Lam. iii. 7) give y this signf. if indeed it be not the primary meaning of this prepos.

when defined by the verb may also mean "behind," and in close connexion with such local signfs. the meanings "in the place of," 66 Fon behalf of," come into use. y is in fact nepí both with genit. and accus. LXX. gives the general meaning, åvτiλýπтwp pov el.

4. a.

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LXX. and A.V., misled by the verb in the second hemist., have rendd. ekrâ, “I will cry,” by èkékpaέa, “I cried." For "p accus. of the instrument cf. Is. x. 30.

b. "And he heard me," Hebr. "y" vay-yaa'nênî, “and He has answered me." The fut. or imperf. with vav convers. or consec. denotes here David's firm confidence in God. He means almost to say, "Before ever I cry unto Thee Thou wilt already have answered me." "His holy hill"=Zion, as passim, not heaven.

The Selah is succeeded by a change of feeling. Complaint and entreaty give place to expressions of the deepest confidence, the fact that Jehovah has protected him during the hours of unconsciousness being regarded as a pledge of future security.

5. b. "Sustained me," the Hebrew Imperf. here denotes the dependence of the verb on those preceding. We might rend. "for