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The last song (cxxxiv) seems to be an interchange of greetings between the lay worshippers in the Temple and the priests and Levites appointed for the night service' (Cheyne). The first two sentences give the summons; the third is the priestly response.

Behold, bless ye the Lord, all
the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord,
Who by night stand in the house of the Lord.

Lift up your hands unto the sanctuary,

And bless the Lord.

"The Lord bless thee out of Zion,

He the maker of heaven and earth.'

CHAPTER VII

THE ROYAL PSALMS

§1. The eighteenth Psalm: Diligam te, Domine.'-In this chapter I bring together ten Psalms which, unlike in many respects, yet agree in this: that they either allude to, or are spoken by a ruler, a reigning prince, a king. Who this king may be is in each case a very difficult question to decide, and hence the 'royal' Psalms are among those which have given rise to the longest discussions and about which the most various theories have been suggested by the learned. It will obviously not be possible for me to refer to these discussions and theories except in the most cursory and summary manner.

The first Psalm to be cited in this group is the eighteenth. It bears the following heading: 'Of David, the servant of the Lord, who spake unto the Lord the words of this song on the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.' This Psalm has been retained for David even by scholars who cannot see their way to admitting his claim to any other portion of the existing Psalter. But there is no good reason to make this exception, and the true bearing of the Psalm is veiled if we adhere to it. The Psalm is purely general, and the author of the heading was not unconscious of this, as we may gather from his curious phrase, 'on the day that the Lord delivered him from all his enemies.' There is, as Professor Wellhausen points out, a total absence of definite historical allusions.' The person of David is assumed by the poet, but it is in reality the community or the nation whose hopes and ideals are thus expressed. And these hopes and ideals are those with which we are already familiar. They are dependent upon the prophetic teaching; for this particular Psalm Mr. Gray has rightly called attention to a passage in the Second Isaiah (Part I, p. 500. 'I will make an everlasting covenant with

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you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, for a witness to the peoples I appointed him, a ruler and commander of the nations. Behold, thou shalt call a people that thou knowest not, and a people that know not thee shall run unto thee, because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel, for he hath glorified thee').

The Psalm is therefore Messianic. It depicts dramatically and by the anticipation of faith the scenes of the final deliverance and its results. The king is either the royal nation itself which enters upon the heritage of David, or it is the future king of Davidic lineage who is to rule over a redeemed and regenerate people. Mr. Gray adopts the first supposition; Professor Cheyne the second. The latter scholar says, 'From the very first the Psalmist transports us to the Messianic age. The judgement on the nations has taken place; Israel, with a Davidic king at its head, has been raised to the height of prosperity. It is this Davidic king who speaks in the Psalm. He has no private ambitions, and can therefore interpret the thoughts of the community; indeed, the Psalmist sometimes forgets the king, and speaks for the personified people.'

This Psalm, with another not included in our present Psalter, has also been inserted in the Second Book of Samuel, breaking the connexion between two historical passages. I have quoted the Psalm almost in full in Part I, and made some comments upon its teaching (pp. 264-269).

I love thee, O Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;

My shield, the horn of my salvation and my stronghold.
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised :
So am I saved from mine enemies.

The billows of death compassed me,

And the floods of destruction made me afraid.

The nooses of Sheol compassed me about:

The snares of death confronted me.

In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried unto my God:

He heard my voice out of his temple,

And my cry came before him, even into his ears.

Then the earth shook and trembled ;

The foundations also of the hills moved

And were shaken, because he was wroth.

There went up a smoke out of his nostrils,
And fire out of his mouth devoured:
Coals were kindled by it.

He bowed the heavens and came down:
And darkness was under his feet.

And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly:

Yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.

He made darkness his secret place, his pavilion round about him;

Dark waters, thick clouds of the skies.

At the brightness that was before him thick clouds vanished;Hail stones and coals of fire!

The Lord thundered in the heavens,

And the Highest gave his voice.

Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them;

And he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.

Then the beds of the waters were seen,

And the foundations of the world were discovered,

At thy rebuke, O Lord,

At the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.

He stretched out from on high, he took me,

He drew me out of many waters.

He delivered me from my strong enemy,

And from them which hated me: for they were too strong

for me.

They confronted me in the day of my calamity:

But the Lord was my stay.

He brought me forth into a large place;

He delivered me, because he delighted in me.

The Lord dealt with me according to my righteous

ness;

According to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.

For I kept the ways of the Lord,

And departed not wickedly from my God.

For all his ordinances were before me,

And I did not put away his statutes from me.

I was blameless before him,

And I kept myself from iniquity.

Therefore the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness,

According to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.

'THOU LIGHTEST MY LAMP'

With the loving thou shewest thyself loving;
With the upright thou shewest thyself upright;

With the pure thou shewest thyself pure;

And with the tortuous thou wilt shew thyself crooked. For thou savest the humble people;

But high looks thou dost abase.

For thou lightest my lamp:

The Lord my God enlighteneth my darkness. For by thee I run through a troop;

And by my God I leap over the wall.

As for God, his way is perfect:

The word of the Lord is pure:

He is a shield to all those that take refuge in him. For who is God save the Lord?

Or who is a rock save our God?

The God that girdeth me with strength,

And maketh my way perfect.

He maketh my feet like hinds' feet,

And setteth me upon my high places.

He teacheth my hands to war,

So that a bow of brass is bent by mine arms.
Thou givest me the shield of thy salvation:
Thy right hand holdeth me up,

And thine help maketh me great.
Thou enlargest my steps under me,
That my feet do not slip.

I pursue mine enemies, and overtake them:
Neither turn I again till they are consumed.
I shatter them that they are not able to rise:
They are fallen under my feet.

For thou girdest me with strength unto the battle:

Thou subduest under me those that rise up against me. Thou hast given me the necks of mine enemies;

That I may destroy them that hate me.

They cry, but there is none to save:

Even unto the Lord, but he answereth them not.
And I beat them small as the dust before the wind:
I cast them out as the dirt in the streets.

Thou deliverest me from the strivings of the peoples;
Thou makest me a head of nations:

A people whom I have not known serve me.

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