'THE CUP OF SALVATION' The cords of death had compassed me, And the pangs of Sheol gat hold upon me, Then I called upon the name of the Lord: The Lord preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me. Return unto thy rest, O my soul; For the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. For thou hast delivered my soul from death, Mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I shall walk before the Lord In the land of the living. I kept my trust, even when I spake : "I am greatly afflicted:' (?) I said in mine alarm: 'All men are liars.' (?) What shall I render unto the Lord I will raise the cup of salvation, Is the death of his loving ones. O Lord, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, the son of thine handmaid :- I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, I will pay my vows unto the Lord, Even in the presence of all his people, In the courts of the Lord's house, In the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the Lord. 539 'The simple.' The word is here used in a good sense. The simple are they who put their trust wholly in God, and despite of appearances are confident of ultimate deliverance. It is the simplicity of faith. 'Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his loving ones.' A difficult verse. What is the meaning of the word precious' Some suppose the signification to be: God does not give his loving ones over unto death willingly;' their death is a serious, a grave thing in his sight. (The root idea of the word 'yakar' is heavy.) Others believe the passage means: God regards the death of his loving ones 'as something dearly to be paid for by those who are its agents.' (So Cheyne.) Much of the third stanza is very obscure, and the translation dark and doubtful. Probably the text is corrupt. The passage from 'Precious in' down to loosed my bonds seems defective. Olshausen and Wellhausen conjecture that the original text may have run like this : Precious in the sight of the Lord [Is the life of his servants; He giveth not] his loving ones unto death. [I said]: O Lord, [help me], for I am thy servant: I am thy servant, the son of thy handmaid. [Then didst thou hearken unto me,] Thou didst loose my bonds. § 16. The one hundred and seventeenth Psalm.-The tiny Psalm which follows is the shortest in the Psalter. O praise the Lord, all ye nations: Praise him, all ye peoples. For his lovingkindness hath been mighty over us: Praise ye the Lord. For our one word 'praise' the Hebrew here has two. So in German you can say 'rühmen' and 'loben,' or ' loben' and 'preisen'; but laud' as a synonym for 'praise' is ugly. 'Over us,' i. e. protectingly. The Hebrew word Emet is usually rendered 'truth' in the Authorized Version, but familiar as we are with the term, it is often a not very accurate translation. It means more properly 'fidelity' or 'faithfulness,' truth as realized in the fulfilment of a bond or covenant. God's Emet towards Israel is his fidelity to his covenant. § 17. The last of the Hallels: Psalm one hundred and eighteen.The last of the Hallel Psalms is cxviii. Scarcely any other in the whole Psalter is so surely Maccabean as this. It breathes the very spirit of Judas, the hero, even as it celebrates his dedication of the purified Temple: that is the Day which the Lord hath made,' and Israel is the corner-stone.' Professor Cheyne describes 'GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD' 541 the structure of the Psalm as follows: A procession is on its way to the Temple, different sections of which alternately sing the several verses of the first part.' (Stanzas 1 to 4.) The first half of the fifth stanza' is spoken in the name of the whole band on its arrival at the gates'; the second half 'is the reply in the name of the Levites who receive it.' The sixth stanza is 'sung antiphonally as before.' The first verse of the last stanza 'is the cry of the whole chorus'; the second verse is spoken by those within to the approaching procession'; the third 'belongs to the leaders of the band'; the fourth to a part of the chorus'; the fifth 'to the whole body of worshippers.' The procession on its way to the Temple. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: That his lovingkindness endureth for ever. That his lovingkindness endureth for ever. Let them that fear the Lord now say, That his lovingkindness endureth for ever. Out of my straits I called upon the Lord: The Lord is for me as my Helper; Therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. It is better to take refuge in the Lord Than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord All nations compassed me about: But in the name of the Lord I have cut them off. They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: But in the name of the Lord I have cut them off. They compassed me about like bees; They burned as a fire of thorns : In the name of the Lord I have cut them off. Thou didst thrust sore at me that I might fall: The Lord is my strength and my song, And he hath become my salvation. The sound of rejoicing and deliverance is in the tents of the righteous: "The right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly, The right hand of the Lord is exalted: The right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly.' I shall not die, but live, And declare the works of the Lord. The Lord hath chastened me sore: But he hath not given me over unto death. The procession at the gates of the Temple. Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will enter into them and give thanks unto the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord, Into which the righteous may enter. The procession. I will give thanks unto thee: for thou didst hear me, The stone which the builders despised Is become the head stone of the corner This is the Lord's doing; It is marvellous in our eyes This is the day which the Lord hath made; The whole chorus. Save now, we beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, we beseech thee, send now prosperity. Levites within the Temple. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Leaders of the procession. The Lord is God; he hath given us light: Bind ye garlands with myrtles unto the horns of the altar. (?) , 'THE HEAD STONE OF THE CORNER' 543 Part of the chorus. Thou art my God, and I will give thanks unto thee: The whole chorus. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: 'The gates of righteousness,' i. e. (1) 'the gates which open only to the righteous, and (2) those from which Jehovah's righteous acts of deliverance proceed' (Cheyne). The despised stone is either Zion or Israel. In consequence of the Maccabean victories, the despised Jewish people now assume a prominent position in the world' (Wellhausen). 6 Bind ye garlands with myrtles:' a very doubtful rendering due to Professor Graetz. The usual translation is, Fasten the festal victim with cords to the horns of the altar,' which is both absurd and un-Hebraic. Perhaps the text is corrupt. The Midrash on the Psalms has a pretty little homily on the 'Gate of the Lord.' 'In the world to come a man is asked, "What was thine occupation?" If he reply, "I fed the hungry," he is answered, "That is the gate of the Lord: enter thou in."' § 18. The one hundred and thirty-eighth Psalm.-My thanksgiving group is concluded by a probably Maccabean Psalm (exxxviii), in which the writer expresses his gratitude for the divine deliverance of Israel, and his faith in the complete realization of the prophetic word. I will praise thee with my whole heart: Before kings will I sing praise unto thee. I will worship toward thy holy temple, And praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: For thou hast done great things above all thy word. In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, And madest me bold in my soul with thy strength. All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord, |