13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me ! O Lord, make haste to mine aid ! 14 May they all be confounded and covered with shame, Who seek to take away my life! May they be driven back with disgrace, Who desire to do me injury! 15 May they be overwhelmed with confusion, Who cry out to me, Aha! aha! 16 But let all, who seek thee, be glad and rejoice in thee! 17 Let those, who love thy protection, ever say, "Exalted be Jehovah!" I am poor and afflicted, yet the Lord thinketh upon me; Thou art my help, and my deliverer; My God, make no delay! PSALM XLI. Prayer of one in affliction, whose enemies desired and plotted his destruction. This psalm is supposed by many to relate to the circumstances of David during the rebellion of Absalom. Others, not understanding the Jewish method of quoting Scripture, apply the whole psalm to the Messiah, on account of the quotation of the ninth verse by Jesus in John xiii. 18. To this latter supposition the fourth verse is a sufficient objection, not to mention others. 1 For the leader of the music. A psalm of David. HAPPY is he who hath regard to the poor; The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. 2 The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive ; He shall be happy on the earth ; Thou wilt not give him up to the will of his enemies! 3 The Lord will support him upon the bed of disease, Thou will raise him from his sick bed! 4 I said, O Lord, be merciful to me ! Heal me, for I have sinned against thee! 5 My enemies speak evil of me; "When will he die, and his name perish?" 6 If one come to see me, he speaketh falsehood; His heart gathereth malice; When he goeth abroad, he uttereth it. 7 All that hate me whisper together against me; Against me do they devise mischief; 8 His base conduct cleaveth to him; “He lieth down, and he shall never arise." 9 Yea, my familiar friend in whom I trusted, who did eat of my bread, 10 He hath lifted up his heel against me. But do thou, O Lord, have pity upon me; 11 By this I know that thou favorest me, Because my enemy doth not triumph over me. 12 As for me, thou wilt support me in my prosperity; Thou wilt set me before thy face for ever ! 13 Praised be Jehovah, God of Israel, From everlasting to everlasting. Amen! Amen! BOOK II. PSALM XLII. XLIII. The aspirations of an afflicted exile after the temple and worship of God. The forty-second and forty-third compose but one psalm in thirty-six Hebrew manuscripts examined by Dr. Kennicott, and nine by De Rossi, and from internal evidence there can be little doubt that this was their original form. It is commonly supposed to refer to the circumstances of David, when he fled to a distance from Jerusalem and the sanctuary, from his rebellious son Absalom. Others suppose it to be the composition of a priest, living among strangers, who derided him for his trust in Jehovah. For the leader of the music. A song of the sons of Korah. 1 As the hart panteth for the water-brooks, So panteth my soul for thee, O God! 2 My soul thirsteth for God, the living God; When shall I come, and appear before God? 3 My tears have been my food day and night, While they say to me continually, Where is thy God? 4 When I think of it, I pour out my soul in grief; How I once walked in the procession to the house of God, Amid sounds of joy and praise with the festive multitude! 5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him, While I remember thee from the land of Jordan and Hermon ; From the mountain Mizar. 7 Deep calleth for deep; thy cataracts roar ; All thy waves and billows have gone over me! 8 Once Jehovah commanded his kindness by day, And by night his praise was with me, An dprayer to the God of my life. 9 Now I say to God, my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? Why go I mourning on account of the oppression of the enemy? 10 The reproaches of the enemy are like the crushing of my bones, 11 1 While they say to me continually, Where is thy God? Why art thou cast down, O my soul! And why art thou disquieted within me ? Hope thou in God! for I shall yet praise him, Judge me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungenerous nation; Deliver me from unjust and deceitful men! 2 Thou art the God of my strength; why dost thou cast me off? Why go I mourning on account of the oppression of the enemy? 3 O send forth thy light and thy truth; let them guide me; Let them lead me to thy holy mountain, and to thy dwelling-place! 4 Then will I go to the altar of God, 5 To the God of my joy and exultation; Yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God, my Why art thou cast down, O my soul ! And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise him, Him, my deliverer and my God! PSALM XLIV. Prayer of a pious Israelite for the relief of his oppressed and persecuted nation. Calvin, with several modern interpreters, supposes this psalm to have been composed during the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes. See 1 Mac. i. and ii. De Wette has suggested several strong objections to this supposition, and refers it to the time of Jehoiakim, when the Chaldeans came against Jerusalem, 2 Kings xxiv. 2. &c, or of Jehoiachin, when a portion of the people was carried into captivity. 2 Kings xxiv. 10, &c. For the leader of the music. A psalm of the sons of Korah. 1 O GOD! We have heard with our ears, Our fathers have told us; What deeds thou didst in their days, In the days of old. 2 With thine own hand didst thou drive out the people, And plant our fathers in their stead; Thou didst destroy the nations, And cause our fathers to flourish. |