《Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers – Psalms (Vol. 1)》(Charles J. Ellicott) Commentator

61 Psalm 61
Introduction

LXI.

Here we have the prayer of an Israelite living at a distance from his country, and declaring in the simplest possible manner that in spite of this banishment he does not feel remote from God nor deprived of the Divine protection. It is a forecast of the great principle of spiritual worship which Jesus Christ was to proclaim.

Tradition assigns this exquisite little song, with its fine spiritual discernment, to David. The repetition of the imagery of the high tower is in the Davidic style, but many critics think it breathes rather of the time of the captivity. Three equal stanzas of six short lines and elegant rhythm compose the poem.

Title—See title Psalms 4.

Neginah, properly negînath, probably an error for negînôth, as in Psalms 4, as the LXX. and Vulg. (“in hymns”) evidently read it. Or it may be an anomalous form of negînah, which, in Job 30:9, means a satirical song.

Verse 2

(2) From the end. of the earth . . .—A hyperbolic expression for a great distance. Isaiah (Isaiah 5:26) uses the expression of Assyria, and it would be natural in an exile’s mouth, but must not be pressed to maintain any theory of the psalm’s date.

When my heart is overwhelmed.—Literally, in the covering of my heart, the verb being used (Psalms 65:13) of the valleys covered with corn, and metaphorically, as here, of “the garment of heaviness,” which wraps a sad heart (Psalms 102 title; Isaiah 57:16). (Comp. Tennyson’s “muffled round with woe.”)

Lead me to the rock . . .—Literally, upon the rock lead me, which is probably a constructio prægnans for lead me to the rock too high for me to climb by myself, and place me there. The elevated rock is a symbol of security, which cannot be obtained without the Divine help. Others take the expression as figurative for a difficulty which it needs God’s help to surmount.

Verse 3

(3) A strong tower.—Comp. Proverbs 18:10.

Verse 4

(4) I will abide.—Rather, Let me be a guest in, etc. (Comp. Psalms 15:1; Psalms 27:4.)

Thy tabernacle . . .—It is difficult to decide whether this indicates. the Mosaic tabernacle, and so may be used as an index of the date of the poem; or whether the tent is a general figure for the protection of God, wherever it may be found. It certainly recalls Psalms 23:6.

For ever.—Literally, for ages or æons. For the same plural, see Psalms 145:13.

I will trust . . .—Rather, let me find refuge under the shelter of thy wings. (For the image, see Note Psalms 17:8.)

Verse 5

(5) Heritage.—As the Authorised Version runs, the heritage is length of days, one promised generally to those who fear Jehovah (Proverbs 10:27; Proverbs 19:23), and particularly to Israel (Deuteronomy 6:2) and its kings (Deuteronomy 17:19-20, which passage may have been in the psalmist’s mind). But the LXX. and Vulg. read, “to them that fear thy name,” meaning, of course, by the heritage, Canaan.

Verse 6

(6) See margin, and render as a prayer.

Verse 7

(7) He shall abide.—Better, may he sit enthroned.

Prepare.—Rather, appoint. But the LXX. had a different reading, and an ingenious emendation has been suggested from a comparison with Psalms 40:11, viz., “let mercy and truth continually preserve him.”
62 Psalm 62
Introduction

LXII.

The many close resemblances between this psalm and Psalms 39 lead to the inference that it belongs to the same time, and is even from the same pen. The author and his age are, however, alike unknown; and there is no indication to guide to their discovery. The psalm records an experience common in every age, of the vanity of those objects on which man is apt to set his affections; but an experience particularly likely to find expression in days such as so many of the psalms reflect, when there was open conflict between the national sentiment and the ruling classes. The poet’s is a voice raised in behalf of pious Israel suffering under tyranny. A refrain (Psalms 62:1-2; Psalms 62:5-7) marks the rhythmical structure, but the form is irregular.

Title.—See titles, Psalms 4, 39.

Verse 1

(1) Waiteth upon God.—Literally, unto God (is) silence my soul. (Comp. Psalms 22:2; Psalms 39:2; Psalms 65:1.) The LXX. and Vulg., “shall be in subjection to,” which no doubt gives one side of the feeling; but another may be illustrated by Wordsworth’s—

“The holy time is quiet as a nun

Breathless with adoration.”

Verse 2

(2) Defence.—Properly, high tower, as so often. The metaphor is important here from the contrast with the tottering wall of next verse.

Shall not be greatly moved . . .—i.e. (as in Psalms 37:24), shall not be made to totter or fall.

Verse 3

Verse 4

(4) Their mouth.—Literally, his mouth. They bless each with his mouth, &c

Excellency.—Rather, height, carrying on the metaphor of preceding verse.

Verse 5

(5) As in Psalms 62:1. Truly to God, be silence my soul. The state of resignation is one which can only be preserved by prayer. We may say, I will, but can only feel it through prayer.

Verse 7

(7) In God.—Literally, upon God, as in Psalms 7:10.

Verse 9

(9) Are vanity.—Or, mere breath.

To be laid in the balance.—Literally, in the balances to go up, which may mean in the scales they must go up, i.e., kick the beam. But a slight change in one letter gives the more probable, when weighed in the scales.

Verse 10

(10) If riches increase.—Even if by honest means you grow rich, distrust your wealth.

Verse 11

(11) Once; twice.—The usual Hebrew mode of emphasising a numerical statement, and one growing naturally out of the structure of the verse, which loves a climax. (Comp. Proverbs 6:16-19.) The union of power and love is proved to the poet by the fairness and justice mentioned in the last clause.
63 Psalm 63
Introduction

LXIII.

The figure of the first verse misunderstood (see Note) led to the inscription referring this psalm to the wandering period of David’s life, a reference entirely out of keeping with the contents of the poem, even if it were Davidic. The conjecture is far more probable which makes it the sigh of an exile for restoration to the sacred scenes and institutions of his country, now cherished in memory; and so truly does it express the sentiments which would be common to all the pious community of Israel, that we need not vex ourselves with an enquiry, for which the data are so insufficient, into the precise individual or even the precise time to which it first refers. The last verse seems to carry us back to the troubled times immediately before the destruction of Jerusalem, when the existence of monarchy was trembling in the balance, and when some of those already in exile might be supposed to be watching its fortunes with feelings in which hope contended with misgiving, and faith with fear. The poetical form is irregular.

Verse 1

(1) Early will I seek thee.—LXX. and Vulgate, “to thee I wake early,” i.e., my waking thoughts are toward thee, and this was certainly in the Hebrew, since the verb here used has for its cognate noun the dawn. The expectancy which even in inanimate nature seems to await the first streak of morning is itself enough to show the connection of thought. (Comp. the use of the same verb in Song of Solomon 7:12; and comp. Luke 21:28, New Testament Commentary.)

Soul . . . flesh.—Or, as we say, body and soul. (Comp. Psalms 84:2, “my heart and my flesh.”)

Longeth.—Heb., khâmah, a word only occurring here, but explained as cognate with an Arabic root meaning to be black as with hunger and faintness.

In.—Rather, as. (Comp. Psalms 143:6.) This is the rendering of one of the Greek versions quoted by Origen, and Symmachus has “as in,” &c

Thirsty.—See margin. Fainting is perhaps more exactly the meaning. (See Genesis 25:29-30, where it describes Esau’s condition when returning from his hunt.) Here the land is imagined to be faint for want of water. The LXX. and Vulgate have “pathless.” The parched land thirsting for rain was a natural image, especially to an Oriental, for a devout religious soul eager for communion with heaven.

Verse 2

(2) To see thy power . . .—The transposition of the clauses in the Authorised Version weakens the sense. Render, So (i.e., in this state of religious fervour) in the sanctuary have I had vision of thee in seeing thy might and glory. The psalmist means, that while he saw with his eyes the outward signs of Divine glory, he had a spiritual vision (the Hebrew word is that generally used of prophetic vision) of God.

Verse 3

(3) Because.—Such a sense of the blessedness of Divine favour—here in its peculiar sense of covenant favour—that it is better than life itself, calls for gratitude displayed all through life. “Love is the ever-springing fountain” from which all goodness proceeds, and a sense of it is even more than the happy sense of being alive. The following lines convey in a modern dress the feeling of this part of the psalm:—

“So gazing up in my youth at love,

As seen through power, ever above

All modes which make it manifest,

My soul brought all to a single test—

That He, the Eternal, First and Last,

Who in His power had so surpassed

All man conceives of what is might,

Whose wisdom too showed infinite—

Would prove as infinitely good.”

R. BROWNING: Christmas Eve.

Thus—i.e., in the spirit in which he now speaks. For the attitude of the uplifted hands, see Note, Psalms 28:2.

Verse 5

(5) Satisfied.—This image of a banquet, which repeats itself so frequently in Scripture, need not be connected with the sacrificial feasts.

Verse 6

(6) Remember.—Better, remembered.

Bed.—Literally, beds.

Night watches.—According to the Jewish reckoning, the night was divided into three watches: the “beginning,” or head (rôsh); the “middle” (tikhôn, Judges 7:19); and the “morning” (boker, Exodus 14:24).

Verse 7

(7) Because . . .—Better, For thou hast been my helper; and under the shadow, &c. (For the image see Psalms 17:8; Psalms 36:7; Psalms 57:1; Psalms 61:4.)

Verse 8

(8) My soul . . .—Literally, my soul cleaved after thee, combining two ideas. (Comp. Jeremiah 42:16.) The English phrase, “hung upon thee” (comp. Prayer-Book version), exactly expresses it.

For “depths,” or “abysses of the earth,” comp. Psalms 139:15; Ephesians 4:9. It means the under world of the dead.

Verse 10

(10) Shall fall.—See margin. But more literally, they shall pour him on to the hands of the sword, where the suffix him is collective of the enemy, and the meaning is, “they shall be given over to the power of the sword.” (Comp. Jeremiah 18:21; Ezekiel 35:5.)

Foxes . . .—Rather, jackals. Heb., shualîm. (See Note, Song of Solomon 2:15.)

Verse 11

(11) Sweareth by him.—This is explained as meaning, “swear allegiance to him as the king,” on the analogy of Zephaniah 1:5. And this suits the context. On the other hand, the natural way to understand the phrase, “swear by” or “in him,” is to refer it to the only oath allowed to the Israelite,” by the name of Jehovah” (Deuteronomy 6:13; Isaiah 65:16; comp. Amos 8:14), in which case we must explain by Deuteronomy 10:20-21, “Swear by his (Jehovah’s) name; He is thy praise.” Those who are loyal to Jehovah, who appeal to Him in all troubles, will find this promise true, “They shall glory,” while the unfaithful and false, not daring to make the solemn appeal, will have their mouth stopped. (Comp. Romans 3:19.)
64 Psalm 64
Introduction

LXIV.

The situation indicated in this psalm is one that frequently occurs in Israel’s hymn-book. A prey to calumny, the poet for himself, or, more probably, for the community, implores the protection of God, and then suddenly takes up the prophetic strain—persuaded, from the known order of Providence, that retribution must come—and foretells the sudden dissipation of the deeply-laid schemes of those who vex and oppress God’s chosen people.

The last couplet is probably a liturgical addition, and not part of the original poem, which without it divides into three regular stanzas of seven lines.

Title.—See title, Psalms 4.

Verse 1

(1) My prayer.—Rather, my cry, complaint, as in Psalms 55:2.

Verse 2

(2) Secret counsel . . . insurrection—Better, secret league (sôd) . . . noisy gathering (rigshah). For sôd see Psalms 25:14, and for rigshah see Note to Psalms 2:2.

Verse 3

(3) For the figure in this and the following verse, see Psalms 10:7; Psalms 11:2; Psalms 52:2; Psalms 57:4; Psalms 59:7.

“’Tis slander.

Whose edge is sharper than the sword.”

SHAKESPEARE.

For the ellipse in “they bend (literally, tread) their arrows,” see Psalms 58:7.

Verse 4

(4) And fear not.—These are utterly unscrupulous, fearing neither God nor man.

Verse 5

(5) They encourage themselves.—Literally, they strengthen for themselves an evil thing (or “word,” margin, LXX., and Vulg.,) which evidently means that they take their measures carefully, and are prepared to carry them out resolutely.

They commune . . .—Better, they calculate how they may lay snares privily. The conspirators carefully and in secret go over every detail of their plot.

Who shall see them?—Literally, who shall look to them? which seems at first glance to mean, “who will see the snares?” but this is weak. It may be equivalent to, “who is likely to see us?” the question being put indirectly. But in 1 Samuel 16:7, the expression, “looketh on,” implies “regard for,” which may possibly be the meaning here, “who careth for them?”

Verse 6

(6) They search out iniquities—i.e., they plan wicked schemes.

They accomplish a diligent search.—See margin, which indicates the difficulty in this clause. The versions and some MSS. also suggest a corruption of the tent. Read “They have completed their subtle measures” (literally, the planned plan).

Verse 7-8

(7, 8) The meaning of these verses is clear. In the moment of their imagined success, their deeply-laid schemes just on the point of ripening, a sudden Divine retribution overtakes the wicked, and all their calumnies, invented with such cunning, fall back on their own heads. But the construction is most perplexing. The text presents a tangled maze of abrupt clauses, which, arranged according to the accents, run: And God shoots an arrow, sudden are their wounds, and they make it (or him) fall on themselves their tongue. The last clause seems to pronounce the law which obtains in Divine judgment. While God orders the retribution it is yet the recoil of their own evil on the guilty. In these cases,

“We still have judgment here, that we but teach

Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return

To plague the inventor; this evenhanded justice

Commends the ingredients of our poisoned chalice

To our own lips.”

SHAKSPEARE: Macbeth.

Flee away.—The verb (nâdad) properly means to flutter the wings like a bird (Isaiah 10:14).

Verse 9

(9) For they shall wisely consider.—Rather, And they understand his work.

Verse 10

(10) Shall glory.—Or, perhaps, shall shine forth clear, i.e., shall have their cause acknowledged just. The LXX. and Vulg. seem to have understood it so: “shall be praised.”

65 Psalm 65
Introduction

LXV.

The feeling pervading this psalm is indicated by the initial words quiet and praise. The attitude of Israel towards God is one of silent expectation, or expressed thankfulness—it waits hopeful of blessing to be vouchsafed in history and nature, and then bursts forth, like the refreshed and renewed earth, into a loud song of praise. There is only one direct indication of the probable date of the poem—the mention of the Temple, which sets aside the traditional ascription to David. Some have seen reference to a great national deliverance, such as that from Sennacherib, and to an abundant harvest following it. Others, even as early as some MSS. of the LXX. (see Note to title), date the psalm during the exile. The language of the latter part certainly recalls the glowing pictures of the blessings of the Return painted by the later Isaiah. But we can afford to leave undiscovered the author and date of a poem which is perennially fresh and true—a harvest song for the whole world and for all time. The parallelism is symmetrical throughout, but in form the psalm is an ode without regularity of stanza.

Title.—See titles to Psalms 4, 45

The Vulgate and some MSS. of the LXX. add to the word song, “of Jeremiah or Ezekiel, for the people of the dispersion, as they were about to return home.”

Verse 1

(1) Praise waiteth . . .—Literally, To thee silence praise, which recalls Psalms 62:1 (see Note), but must be differently explained. To say, Praise is silence to thee, is hardly intelligible. The LXX. and Vulg. read differently, “praise is comely.” Better supply a conjunction, To thee are quiet and praise, i.e., submissive expectation till the deliverance come (Psalms 62:1), and then exulting praise.

Shall the vow.—Better, Is the vow paid, i.e., by the praise just mentioned.

Verse 2

(2) Unto thee shall all flesh come.—This has usually, and most truly, been taken as prophetic of the extension of the true religion to the Gentiles. But we must not let what was, in the Divine providence, a fulfilment of the psalmist’s words, hide their intention as it was conscious to himself. The psalm shows us the exclusiveness of Hebrew belief, and, at the same time, the nobler and grander feelings which are from time to time found struggling against it. The peculiar privilege of Israel has been stated in the first verse. Silent, yet confident, waiting for Jehovah’s blessing, and then exultant praise for it (Tehillah). In this the other nations have no part; but all flesh may approach Jehovah in prayer (Tephillah). (Compare Psalms 65:5.)

Verse 3

(3) Iniquities.—Literally, Words (or, things) of iniquities, i.e., details of crime, or instances of wickedness. (Comp. Psalms 35:20; Psalms 105:27; Psalms 145:5.)

Prevail.—Better, have prevailed, have overcome me, been too much for me. No doubt, though the pronoun is singular, we are to think of Israel at large here, confessing, by the mouth of the poet, its unworthiness of that Divine communion for which still (see next verse) God had chosen them. This is more in keeping with the general tone of the psalm than to refer the confession to an individual. The LXX. and Vulg. give the pronoun in the plural.

There appears in this verse an antithesis between iniquity and transgression. The latter certainly sometimes seems to be applied in distinction to the violation of the covenant, and possibly the distinction is present here. The frailty and sin common to all flesh has not exempted Israel; but the chosen people have to mourn besides transgressions of their own law. These, however, will be by sacrifice purged away, and then, brought back into full covenant privilege, the offenders will approach the earthly dwelling-place of the Divine, and dwell there.

Verse 4

(4) Blessed.—The ellipse of the relative is common enough (see Psalms 34:8, &c), but here the antecedent is wanting as well. Perhaps we ought to read, He whom thou choosest and bringest near shall dwell, &c

Courts.—From a root meaning to wall round; especially applied to the open space within the outer fence of the Tabernacle, or to the different courts of the Temple (Exodus 27:9; 1 Kings 6:36; 1 Kings 7:12).

We shall be satisfied.—Better, Let us be refreshed.

Thy holy temple.—Literally, The holy of thy temple, which might mean “the holiness of thy temple.”

Verse 5

(5) By terrible things.—Rather, wondrously, a noun used adverbially.

Wilt thou answer us.—Better, Thou dost answer us; describing the usual course of God’s providence. The LXX. and Vulg. make it a prayer: “Hear us.”

The conviction that God, the God of Israel’s salvation or deliverance, would answer wonderfully in righteousness, was, of course, based on the whole experience of the Divine dealings. Righteousness was recognised as the foundation on which the moral order rested.

The confidence of all the ends of the earth.—This might refer to Israel in exile; but it seems more in accordance with the general tenor of the psalm to give the words their widest range. Consciously or unconsciously the whole world rests in God.

Of them that are afar off upon the sea.—Literally, of the sea of those at a distance, i.e., of the farthest seas. (Comp. Isaiah 11:11 : “of the islands of the sea.”)

Verse 6

(6) Girded.—We see the Divine Architect of the world, girt for his labours in the Oriental fashion (see Note, Psalms 18:32), setting the mountains firm on their bases (comp. Psalms 75:3), the poet evidently thinking at the same time how empires, as well as mountains, owe their stability to God.

Verse 7

(7) Tumult.—Here we see the literal passing into the figurative. From the raging seas the poet’s thought goes to the anarchies arising from the wild passions of men, for which in all literature the ocean has furnished metaphors. (Comp. Isaiah 17:12.) In a well-known passage, the Latin poet Virgil reverses the simile, likening the sudden calm which succeeds the storm that wrecked Æneas to the effect produced by a leader of men in a seditious city. (Virgil, Æn. i. 148.)

Verse 8

(8) They also . . .—Or, So they.

The outgoings . . .—A pregnant expression for the rising of the morning and setting of the evening sun. East and west.

To rejoice.—Better, to sing for joy. The whole earth from one utmost bound to the other is vocal with praise of the Creator and Ruler of the universe. So the morning stars sang together at the creation (Job 38:7).

Verse 9

(9) Thou visitest . . .—Better, Thou hast visited. Even if there is not reference to some particular season of plenty, yet with a glance back on the memory of such. Instead of “earth,” perhaps, here, “land.”

Waterest.—Or, floodest. The river of God stands for the rain. There is a Arabic proverb, “When the river of God comes, the river Isa (in Bagdad) ceases.” The Rabbins say, “God has four keys which He never entrusts to any angel, and chief of these is the key of the rain.” (Comp. Job 26:8; Job 28:26; Job 38:28.) The expression “river” for rain is very appropriate of the downpour of a country that has its rainy season. (Comp. “the rushing of the river rain,” Tennyson’s Vivien.)

Thou preparest . . .—The Authorised Version misses the sense, which is, thou preparest their corn when thou hast prepared it (the land) so—i.e., in the manner now to be described. Thus LXX. and Vulgate.

Verse 10

(10) Thou waterest . . . settlest.—Better, by watering . . . settling.

Ridges . . . furrows.—These terms would be better transposed since by “settling” (literally, pressing down) is meant the softening of the ridges of earth between the furrows. The LXX. and Vulgate have “multiply its shoots.”

Showers.—Literally, multitudes (of drops).

Verse 11

(11) Thou crownest.—Better, hast crowned. We generally connect the idea of completion with this metaphor, but the original thought in the Hebrew word, as in the Greek στέφω, is probably to encompass. Comp. the Latin corono in Lucretius, —

“Sylva coronat aquas ingens nemus omne.”

All “the circle of the golden year” had been attended by Divine goodness. The meaning seems to be that God had made a year which was naturally prosperous still more abundant.

Paths.—The root from which the Hebrew word is formed means to roll, or revolve, and it often means the track made by a wheel. This idea may be present since God is often represented in Hebrew poetry as riding on a chariot of clouds, generally with the association of wrath and destruction (Psalms 18:10; Psalms 68:4), but here, with the thought of plenty and peace following on His track, as in the Latin poet—

“Te fugiunt venti, te nubila cœli

Adventumque tuum, tibi suaves dœdala tellus

Submittit flores, tibi rident æquora ponti

Placatumque ridet diffuso lumine cœlum.”

LUCRETIUS, i. 6.

But it is more natural to give the word the meaning revolutions, and to think of the blessings brought by the “seasons as they roll.”

Fatness.—A cognate accusative to the word “drop” used absolutely in the next verse. (Comp. Proverbs 3:20.)

Verse 12

(12) They drop upon.—Supply “fatness” from the last verse.

And the little hills.—See margin. The freshness and beauty of plant life, which suddenly, as by a miracle, in Eastern lands clothes the hill-sides, resembles a fair mantle thrown round their shoulders, as if to deck them for some festival.