PSALM LX. 1 O God, thou hast cast us off; thou hast scattered us; Thou hast been displeased! O, turn thyself to us again! 2 Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it : Heal the breaches thereof, for it shaketh. 3 Thou hast showed thy people hard things; Thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment. 4 Lift up a banner for them that fear thee, That it may be displayed because of thy truth. 5 That thy beloved may be delivered, Save with thy right hand, and hear me. 6 God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice; I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth. 7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim shall be my helmet, And Judah my sceptre; 8 Moab shall be my wash-pot; 9 Upon Edom will I cast my shoe ; I shall triumph over Philistia. Who will bring me into the strong city? Who will lead me into Edom? 10 Wilt not thou, O God, who didst forsake us? Thou, O God, who didst not go forth with our armies? Ver. 4. "Because of thy truth"; i. e. that the truth of thy promises may be preserved. Ver. 9. 2 Sam. viii. 14. 11 Give us help in our distress, For vain is the help of man. 12 Through God we shall do valiantly; For he it is that shall tread down our enemies. PSALM LXXXII. A REBUKE TO UNJUST MAGISTRATES. THIS psalm is ascribed to Asaph; and there are coincidences in it with some others, which bear the same inscription. The first verse reminds us of Psalm 1. 1, and the fifth verse of Ps. lxxv. 3. These coincidences are very interesting, and the expressions throw light on The theme of all the three compositions one another. is the same: God recognized as the judge of men, and as judging his children impartially, according to the uprightness of their lives, not their ritual observances, nor artificial distinctions. There is a tone of stern authority to the high, and of sympathy with the humble, that is quite remarkable. Each of the three psalms is concluded by a sentence which stands apart from the rest, and seems to express in brief the moral of the psalm. On assuming the government, it may be supposed David found abundant occasion for rebuking injustice, and correcting disorders, which had sprung up in the troubled time that embraced the conclusion of Saul's reign and the interval that followed before his own. Asaph, his chief musician, and doubtless admitted to his friendship and sharing his counsels, may be supposed, in this psalm, to speak in the name of the king, and with authority. PSALM LXXXII. GOD standeth in the congregation of the mighty; He judgeth among the gods. 2" How long will ye judge unjustly, And accept the persons of the wicked? 3 Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy. 4 Deliver the poor and needy; Save them out of the hand of the wicked." 5 They know not, neither will they understand; They walk on in darkness; Therefore all the foundations of the land are shaken. 6 I have said, Ye are gods; And all of you are children of the Most High; 7 But shall die like men, ye And fall like the rest of the princes. 8 Arise, O God! judge the earth; For all nations are thy possession. Ver. 1. The word "gods" means the great ones of the earth. This interpretation is expressly sanctioned by Christ himself, in reference to this psalm. John x. 35. Ver. 5. The expression "the foundations of the land" is equivalent to "the pillars of it" in Psalm lxxv. It may be paraphrased, "The vital interests of the state are threatened with ruin." Ver. 7. "Ye shall die," &c. It is not merely a statement of the fact that they shall meet the common lot. of mortality, but that PSALM XX. BEFORE THE WAR WITH THE AMMONITES. THIS was a war most needlessly provoked by the people of Ammon, and it was formidable to David, because it involved numerous other enemies, who took part with the Ammonites. It was the last serious conflict in which David was engaged before attaining the height of his prosperity; and his victory in this contest extended his power to, and even beyond, the Euphrates. In this psalm the prayers of the people for the success of their king, going to war, are expressed in the first five verses. Then follows the response of David: "Now know I that the Lord helpeth his anointed," &c. Then, in the seventh verse, the chorus continues the psalm. PSALM XX. 1 THE Lord hear thee in the day of trouble! 3 Remember all thy offerings, they shall receive condign punishment, as in Psalm 1. 22. "Like the rest of the princes." It seems needless to say that these princes should fall like the rest of the princes. Bishop Hare, therefore, proposed to read HARASHIM, "the poor," instead of HASARIM, "princes." So also Archbishop Secker. H. And accept thy burnt sacrifice! 4 Grant thee according to thine own heart And fulfil all thy counsel ! 5 We will rejoice in thy protection, 6 And in the name of our God we will set up our banners; The Lord fulfil all thy petitions! Now know I that the Lord helpeth his anointed; He will hear him from his holy heaven, With the saving strength of his right hand. 7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God. 8 They stumble and fall; But we rise and stand upright. 9 Lord, save the king! and hear us when we call. PSALM XXI. AFTER THE WAR WITH THE AMMONITES. THIS is the triumphal song of the people for the victories of their king. In the third verse, the mention of the crown set upon David's head may allude to the incident mentioned in 2 Sam. xii. 30: "He took their king's crown from off his head (the weight whereof was a talent of gold, with the precious stones), and it was set on David's head; and he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance." Compare also ver. 9 with 2 Sam. xii. 31. |