COMMENTARY
ON
THE PSALMS
BY
E. W. HENGSTENBERG,
DR. AND PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY IN BERLIN,
VOLUME II.
TRANSLATED
BY THE REV. P. FAIRBAIRN,
MINISTER AT SALTON;
AND
THE REV. J. THOMSON, A. M.,
MINISTER AT LEITH.
EDINBURGH:
T. & T. CLARK, 38. GEORGE STREET.
LONDON: HAMILTON, ADAMS, & CO.; SIMPKIN, MARSHALL & CO.;
SEELEY & CO.; WARD & CO.; JACKSON & WALFORD, &C.
DUBLIN: JOHN ROBERTSON.
MDCCCXLVI: 1846
Digitized by Ted Hildebrandt, GordonCollege, Wenham, MA 2007
ADVERTISEMENT.
OF this Second Volume of Hengstenberg on the Psalms, the
first part, reaching to the close of Ps. lix., has been translated by
Mr. FAIRBA1RN, and the remainder by Mr. THOMSON. There is
little more remaining of the original work, than will be required
for the half of another volume, the author having as yet only
brought it down to the end of Ps. cxix. But the Subscribers to
the translation may rest assured, that when the continuation
appears, no time will be lost in having another, and, it is hoped,
the concluding volume, put into their hands. The Translators
again repeat, as their former intimation appears, in some quar-
ters, not to have been attended to, that the Hebrew points are
used in the translation where they are used in the original, and
those, who choose to complain of their not being constantly
employed, should, in fairness, direct their complaint against
the author. The Translators have only farther to add, that
they are not to be understood as concurring in the peculiar
view adopted by the author in regard to some of the Messianic
Psalms, (in particular, Ps. xvi. xxii. and lxix.), by their not express-
ing any formal dissent. The same remark may be made in re-
ference to some incidental expressions, such as that at p. 439,
line 37, 38, of Vol. ii. The author has signified his intention
to handle, in a few treatises, to be appended to the Commenta-
ry, some of the more difficult points connected with the inter-
pretation of the Psalms; and it is not improbable that the view
in question will be there more fully opened up and explained.
They deem it, therefore proper, in the meantime, to remain.
silent: and possibly may do so to the last, even should they be
unable to concur in the author's sentiments, unless these should
appear to them to be inconsistent with correct views on the
inspiration of Scripture.
ERRATA IN VOL. II.
In page 275, 3d line from foot, for support of the Psalmist, read contents of the
Psalm.
279, line 16, delete from correspondence to title, andread: agreement as to
the occasion on which the Psalm was composed. Such, however,
has been the passion for scepticism and arbitrary interpretation,
that even here a monument in its favour must be erected.
279, last line, for in former times, read already.
282,12, for the, read this.
14, for they, read to.
287,31, for How the Spirit, &c., read The Psalmist virtually introduces
the verse thus: As the Spirit of God said by Balaam, In God shall
we do valiantly.
288,9, for five, read four.
304,9, for readily, read really.
314,22, forthou, read who.
339, 32. The following note seems needed to explain Hengstenberg's
brief allusion: Though Jehovah was in itself the higher, the more
peculiar appellation, yet when a spirit of idolatry spread among the
people, and they came to look upon their God as only one of the
gods of the nations, so that Jehovah, the peculiar God of Israel, came
to be = a God, then Jehovah really imported less than Elohim.
337, last line, for augment, read argument.
393,39, for connected with, read annexed to.
427,28, for tyh, readtyH.
439,26, for people's, read peoples.
THE
BOOK OF PSALMS.
PSALM XXXV.
THE Psalmist vehemently complains of malicious and ungodly
enemies, prays the Lord for deliverance, giving promise of
thanksgivings, if his prayer was granted. The Psalm falls into
three strophes, in each of which the three elements of complaint,
prayer, and promise of thanksgiving, are contained, and which
are especially remarkable on this account, that each of these
runs out into the vow of thanksgiving, ver. 1-10; ver. 11-18;
ver. 19-28. The middle strophe, surrounded on each side by
two decades, in which prayer predominates, is chiefly remark-
able for an extended representation of the Psalmist's distress,
and of the black ingratitude of his enemies, which calls aloud
for the divine retribution.
The relations of David's time manifestly form the ground of this
Psalm, which was composed, according to the superscription, by
him. A special ground may be found for it, in 1 Sam. xxiv. 15,
where a declaration of David to Saul is recorded, "The Lord
therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see,
and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thine hand,"—which
coincides with the first verse of our Psalm in very characteristic
expressions. Still, we are not to suppose, on this account, that
the Psalm possesses an individual character: what at first sight
appears to carry this aspect, is soon perceived, by an experiencd
judgment, to be a mere individualizing. David speaks in the
person of the righteous, with what view may the more easily be
understood, since the truly Righteous One could appropriate this
Psalm to himself, (John xv. 25, comp. with ver. 19 here,) an ap-
plication, which led many of the older expositors to give the
1
2 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Psalm a too direct and exclusive Messianic exposition, (comp.
on the other hand, Introd. to Psalm xxii.) An accidental
synchronism between this Psalm and the immediately preceding
one, is indicated by the correspondence presented by ver. 5 and
6 to the other, the more remarkable, as these two Psalms are
the only ones, in which the Angel of the Lord, in a general way,
occurs. But in both he appears entirely in the same character
and connection.
Ver. 1. Contend, 0 Lord, with my contenders, consume those
who consume me. In the first member, the relation of the right-
eous to his enemies, appears under the image of a contest for
what is right, in the second, under the image of a war. What
is expressed in the first member as a wish, is in Isa. xlix. 25, con-
verted into a promise, " I will contend with him that contend-
eth with thee." But the wish here also rises on the ground of
the promise. To beg any thing from God, which he had not
promised, were a piece of folly. MHl, signifies, not to fight, but
to eat, and tx is not prepos. but marks the accus. The mean-
ing of fighting first enters in Niphil, prop. to be eaten, then to
be eaten by another. A destructive warfare against the enemies
is not rarely represented as a consuming of these, comp. for ex-
ample, Numb. xxiv. 8, "He eats up (consumes) the heathen,
and their bones will he break." Calvin: "The sum is, that,
overwhelmed with calumnies, and oppressed with cruelty, and
finding no help in the world, he commends his life, as well as his
good name, into the hand of God."
Ver. 2. Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up as my
help. The Lord is represented under the image of a hero, who
equips himself for the deliverance of his oppressed friend. This
representation has its ground in human weakness. As dangers
palpable and manifest surround us, God's hidden and invisible
power is not of itself fitted to keep us from all fear and anxiety.
It must in a manner take to itself flesh and blood. It usually
borrows its dress from the danger, which at the time is threat
ened. In opposition to the acts of lying and calumny, God is set
up as patron or administrator, who takes charge of the affairs
of his people. If danger is threatened from rude violence, he
appears as a warrior, as in Deut. xxxii. 41, 42, who lays hold of
weapons for the defence of his own. In this verse the Psalmist
calls upon the Lord to take weapons of defence, in the next
weapons of offence. Ngmis the small shield, and hnc the great
PSALM XXXV. VER. 3-5. 3
one, as appears from 1 Kings x. 16, 17. ytrzfb prop. in my
help, b is that which marks in what property any thing appears
or consists, Ew. Small Gr. § 521. Help is elsewhere also not
rarely used by David for helper, comp. for example, Psalm xxvii.
9.
Ver. 3. And take hold of the spear, and set a barrier against
my persecutors; say to my soul: thy salvation am I. qvr in
Hiph. to empty, then to take out, namely, from the armoury.
In the expression: set a barrier, prop. close up against my per-
secutor, the figure is borrowed from a host, Which comes to the
help of its confederates, when threatened with a surprisal by the
enemy, and, by throwing itself between them and the enemy,
cuts off from the latter a retreat. It appears, that we have here
before us a military term of art, such as was quite suitable in.
the mouth of the warrior David, and as has already occurred in
ver. 1 and 2. We are not to supply some definite noun, such
as way. Close up, rather imports as much as, make a close.
txrql, against, in military connection, for example, Deut. i.
44, Jos. viii. 14, is carefully to be distinguished from ynpl.
Against my persecutors, in that thou dost oppose a barrier to
them, dost therewith meet them. Many take rgs as a noun=
sa<garij, a kind of battle-axe. But this exposition forsakes the
Hebrew usage, in which the verb rgs has the signification of
closing up, the noun rvgs that of barricade; it has against it
the authority of all the old translations, and is also deserving of
rejection from the very form, as nouns of the kind almost with-
out exception have the v. In the second member, the Psalmist
is thought by many to wish for an audible communication. But,
according to the connection, the speech is rather one embodied
in fact. Comp. the first member and ver. 4. God has to speak
comfort to the endangered and troubled soul of the Psalmist by
the communication of help. The expression: to my soul, is used,
as ver. 4 shows, because his soul found itself in danger, because
his enemies consulted about taking his life.
Ver. 4. Let them be confounded and put to shame, who seek
after my soul, let them be turned back and brought to confusion,
who devise my hurt. That the fut. are to be taken optatively,
that the Psalmist does not express hope and confidence, but as
in verse 1-3, prays, appears from the yhy, in ver. 6. Ver. 5.
Let them be as chaff before the wind, and let the angel of the
Lord thrust them. Comp. in regard to the angel of the Lord,
4 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Ps. xxxiv. 7. hHd signifies only to thrust, knock down, never to
drive, or to drive away. On their eager flight the angel of the
Lord lays hold of them and throws them to the ground so that
they can never rise up again. Comp. on Ps. xxxvi. 12. We are
not to supply to hHd the suffix, but the participle enters into
the place of the noun; prop. let the angel of the Lord be their
pusher. Ver. 6. Let their way be dark and slippery, and let
the angel of the Lord persecute them. The putting of the sub-
stantives darkness and slipperiness, for the adj. gives more
strength. Whosoever is pursued by a powerful enemy upon a
dark and slippery path, which necessarily retards the speed of
his flight, he is given up to sure destruction. Ver. 7. For
without cause they have hid for me their pit-net, without cause
they have made a pit for my soul. The ground is here laid for
the wish expressed in the preceding verse, guaranteeing the
certainty of its fulfilment. The pit-net is a pit covered with a
net. The image is derived from the hunting of wild beasts,
which are caught in such pit-nets, covered over with twigs and
earth. We are not exactly to supply tHw to vrpH, but to dig,
stands for, to make a pit. Ver. 8. Let destruction come upon
him unawares, and his net, which he has concealed, let it catch
him, for destruction let him fall therein. The singular refers
here, as in all similar cases, to the ideal person of the wicked.
The expression: he knows not, stands often for, unexpectedly,
suddenly. As they had surprised the righteous in the midst of
his peace, so might perdition again overtake them in the midst
of their security. hxvw is prop. part. of the verb hxw, to rush
together, and denotes, not destruction in the active sense, but
the ruin. This signification is here also demanded by the last
member, where hxvwb marks the circumstances, under which
the fall takes place. His falling into the net is a thing connected
with the entire ruin, as is said in Ps. xxxvi. 12, "They fall and
are not able to rise up again," Ps. xxxiv. 21, "Evil slays the
wicked." The hxvwb distinguishes the evil impending over
the enemies from what had already befallen the Psalmist. Ver.
9. So will my soul be joyful in the Lord; it shall rejoice in his
salvation.
Ver. 10. All my bones shall say: Lord who is like thee, who
deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, and the
poor and needy from his spoiler. The futures are not to be taken
optat. as Luther: "My soul might rejoice," etc. Neither do
PSALM XXXV. VER. 10-13. 5
they contain the expression of the Psalmist's hope; but he seeks
to make the Lord inclined to grant the desired help, by declar-
ing that it would not be lavished on an ungrateful person, and
that, like seed, the help afforded would yield a rich harvest of
praise and thanksgivings. The bones mark the innermost nature.
The second strophe follows with preponderating lamentation.
The design of the representation given of the malice of the
enemies in ver. 11-16, discovers itself in the words in ver 17,
"Lord, how long wilt thou look on, rescue my soul from their
destructions, mine only one from the lions," for which a prepa-
ration and a motive were provided by the representation. After
the prayer there follows again, in ver. 18, the promise of a thanks-
giving, implying that the granting of what he sought would tend
to the glorification of the name of God.
Ver. 11. Malicious witnesses rise up, what I know not of, that
do they inquire of me, they wish me to express an acknowledg-
ment of misdeeds of which I have been quite innocent. The
verse is neither to be explained historically, nor to be taken
figuratively, but contains an individualizing trait, such as very
frequently occurs in the Psalms, which were sung of the person
of the righteous. Ver. 12. They rewarded me evil for good,
bereavement of my soul. We are not to render: Bereavement is
to my soul; but thelvkw is the accus. governed by: they re-
warded. For according to the connection, the bereavement of
the Psalmist comes here into consideration, only in so far as it
was caused by his enemies. In the following verse, which is
merely an expansion of this, he brings out the fact, that he had
manifested as tender a love to those who were now his enemies,
as is wont to be shewn to none but the nearest relatives. In
testimony of their gratitude and praise for this, they transplant
him into a condition, as if he were entirely alone upon the wide
world. They themselves attack him with wild hatred, comp.
ver. 15, 16, and deprive him also of the fellowship of all others.
Ver. 13. And I, when they were sick, put on sackcloth, hurt my-
self with fasting, and my prayer returned back to my own bosom.
The sickness here is not figurative, but an individualizing mark
of the suffering. One must, in severe sufferings, discerning
therein the righteous punishment of sin, find matter for re-
pentance, and practise fasting as an exercise of repentance.
(The form of expression vwpn hnf, to chastise his soul, to cru-
cify his flesh, comp. the profound explanation in. Isa. lviii, is
6 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
taken from the law, in which Mvc, indicating the form, is still
not found.) Whoever acts thus at the sufferings of others, gives
thereby a proof of the most tender fellowship and love, which
destroys in a manner the distinction between I and thou, regards
the suffering and the guilt of another as its own. Here also we
are not to think of a figurative, but only an individualizing re-
presentation. The most tender fellowship has also, in certain
circumstances, been realized under this form. The last words
receive explanation from what is said in 1 Kings xviii. 42, upon
the posture of Elias in prayer. He, who prays with his head
bent down, appears to bring the prayer back, as it were, to the
bosom from which it proceeded. Clauss: "We must think espe-