PSALM XVII. A PRAYER OF A BELIEVER, OR, PERHAPS, OF THE CHURCH IN THE CHARACTER OF AN INDIVIDUAL, FOR DELIVERANCE .A PRAYER OF DAVID תפלה לדוד Ver. 1. Hear the right, O Lord." Jerome has Audi Deus justum, as if his copies gave Ty instead of PTY. much inclined to adopt this reading, which Aquila too seems to have followed, it being clear that the Messiah himself is the speaker in this Psalm, Bishop Horne, in his Commentaries, having put this out of doubt. Ver. 2. Let my sentence come forth from thy presence;" i. e. "be thou, O Jehovah, my judge in thine own person." let thine eyes behold." The LXX render the pronoun of the first person, οἱ ὀφθαλμοί με ιδέτωσαν εὐθύτητας. Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion, concur in this rendering. The sentiment, according to this reading, is, that there was no hope of seeing any justice done in the world, till God should do it himself. Ver. 3. find nothing: I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress." Kai x sięéon iv quod àdınía.—LXX. But the words .בל תמצא בי זמתי Bishop Hare would read perhaps may bear the same sense without the insertion of "," if л be taken as a noun substantive, with the suffix of the first person, and that suffix be rendered" of mine.” "Thou hast tried me. Thou shalt find no wicked deeds of mine. My mouth shall not transgress." Ver. 4. -concerning the works of men, by the word." Rather, "My mouth shall not transgress on account of the works of men, By the word." Ver. 6. for thou wilt hear me;" rather, "for thou art used to hear me."-Mudge. חסידך Ver. 7. Shew thy marvellous loving kindness." Oavuáswoov, LXX; from the root N. And 5 is the reading of many MSS. But without any alteration of the verb, I would rather read 70, "distinguish," i. e. separate or glorify "thy Holy One." Perhaps the plural TN might be still preferable; that the petition may be for the saints in general, for their final separation from the ungodly, and their glorification. The singulars PT and TD in the books of the Psalms, have a constant reference to our Lord individually. -O thou that savest by thy right hand," &c. The or מושיע ממתקוממים חוסים,der of construction I take to be this “O thou that savest from conspiring-foes them that seek shelter under thy right hand.” Ver. 10. They are inclosed in their own fat." Read with They -עלי חבלמו סגרו (.Houbigant and Kennicott, (posth have closed their net upon me." Ver. 11. They have now compassed us in our steps."Kennicott found in some MSS. N O felices nos. For ,סבבנוהו If the true reading be .סבבונו the Keri gives סבבוני the first person plural with the suffix of the third, this whole line is the exulting speech of the Psalmist's enemies. "O lucky we! at last we have encompassed him;" namely, in the toils. Or, reading 0, "they have encompassed him," i. e. the huntsmen; and this is the speech of the great men, the masters of the huntsmen. -they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth.” This is the attitude of huntsmen taking aim at an animal upon the ground. The whole imagery, in this and the two preceding verses, is taken, as Mudge and Kennicott well observe, from hunting. In the 9th verse, the sportsmen beat the field, and spread their nets. In the 10th, they draw the nets. In the 11th, they exult in their success, and take aim at the prey. But these last words may be rendered, with Bishop Horne, "they have fixed their eyes [upon me] to lay [me] prostrate on the earth.” Ver. 12. Like as a lion," &c. The margin gives the literal translation of the Hebrew words, viz. " the likeness of him is as a lion that desireth to ravin." Ver. 13. Cast him down." The LXX have happily expressed the exact import of the Hebrew word, ὑποσκέλισεν avts," make him sink upon his knees." αὐτῆς, deliver my soul from the wicked which is thy sword, from men which are thy hand." Or, "deliver my soul from the impious one, by thy sword,-from mortals, by thy hand." However, the common version is not indefensible. - See Merrick's Annotations. —Their portion is in this life," " Opin. The plural noun is frequently used to denote life in the highest sense, i. e. immortality. It is also used for the whole extent of a man's natural life; as the life of Abraham, the life of Sarah, &c. But it appears very improbable that this word, which seems most properly to signify life in the highest sense, (as in Psalm xvi, 11.) should also be used to denote the present life, as distinguished from the future; in which sense it is generally understood here. In the word ", in Gen. xxvii, 36, the second is certainly the suffixed pronoun of the first person singular. In this passage, the LXX either took the final for the suffix of the third person plural, or they read ". With this reading I think the passage may be rendered, "All goes smoothly with them in their lives." -All goes smoothly with them;"- either pn is the verb used impersonally, or a noun denoting a life of worldly happiness and pleasure, under the image of smoothness. Ver. 15. when I awake with thy likeness," literally, “ when thy likeness is awakened,” ν τῷ ὀφθηναι την δόξαν σε LXX. See Numbers xii, 8. PSALM XVIII. למנצח The title of this eighteenth Psalm might be thus rendered: "To the giver of victory." "[A Psalm] of the servant of Jehovah, the beloved, who spake unto Jehovah the words of this song, in the day that Jehovah delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the power of hell." The Syriac intitles it, "A thanksgiving upon the ascension of Christ." The whole Psalm may be divided into five parts. |