Lead Me in Your Righteousness: Morning Prayer before the Holy King

Psa 5:4-6 (Hebrew_Bible_5:5-7) The basing of the prayer on God’s holiness. The verbal adjective חפץ (coming from the primitive signification of adhering firmly which is still preserved in Arab. chfd, fut. i .) is in the sing . always (Psa 34:13; Psa 35:27) joined with the accusative. רע is conceived as a person, for although גּוּר may have a material object, it cannot well have a material subject.

יגרך is used for brevity of expression instead of יגוּר עמּך (Ges. §121, 4). The verb גּוּר (to turn in, to take up one’s abode with or near any one) frequently has an accusative object, Psa 120:5, Jdg 5:17, and Isa 33:14 according to which the light of the divine holiness is to sinners a consuming fire, which they cannot endure. Now there follow specific designations of the wicked.

הוללים part . Kal = hōlalim , or even Poal = hôlalim (= מהוללים), are the foolish, and more especially foolish boasters; the primary notion of the verb is not that of being hollow, but that of sounding, then of loud boisterous, non-sensical behaviour. Of such it is said, that they are not able to maintain their position when they become manifest before the eye of God (לנגד as in Psa 101:7 manifest before any one, from נגד to come forward, be visible far off, be distinctly visible).

פעלי און are those who work (οἱ ἐργαζόμενοι Mat 7:23) iniquity; און breath (ἄνεμος) is sometimes trouble, in connection with which one pants, sometimes wickedness, in which there is not even a trace of any thing noble, true, or pure. Such men Jahve hates; for if He did not hate evil (Psa 11:5), His love would not be a holy love. In דּברי כזב, דּברי is the usual form in combination when the plur .

is used, instead of מדבּרי. It is the same in Psa 58:4. The style of expression is also Davidic in other respects, viz. , אישׁ דּמים וּמרמה as in Ps 55:24, and אבּד as in Psa 9:6, cf. Psa 21:11. תּעב (in Amos, Amo 6:8 תּאב) appears to be a secondary formation from עוּב, like תּאב to desire, from אבה, and therefore to be of a cognate root with the Aram. עיּב to despise, treat with indignity, and the Arabic ‛aib a stain (cf.

on Lam 2:1). The fact that, as Hengstenberg has observed, wickedness and the wicked are described in a sevenfold manner is perhaps merely accidental.

Psa 5:7-9 (Hebrew_Bible_5:8-10) Since the Psalm is a morning hymn, the futt . in Psa 5:8 state what he, on the contrary, may and will do (Psa 66:13). By the greatness and fulness of divine favour (Psa 116:14) he has access (εἴσοδον, for בּוא means, according to its root, “to enter”) to the sanctuary, and he will accordingly repair thither to-day. It is the tabernacle on Zion in which was the ark of the covenant that is meant here.

That daily liturgical service was celebrated there must be assumed, since the ark of the covenant is the sign and pledge of Jahve’s presence; and it is, moreover, attested by 1Ch 16:37. It is also to be supposed that sacrifice was offered daily before the tabernacle. For it is not to be inferred from 1Ch 16:39. that sacrifice was only offered regularly on the Bama (high place) in Gibeon before the Mosaic tabernacle.

It is true sacrifice was offered in Gibeon, where the old tabernacle and the old altars (or at least the altar of burnt-offering) were, and also that after the removal of the ark to Zion both David (1Ch 21:29.) and Solomon (1Ki 3:4; 2Ch 1:2-6) worshipped and sacrificed in Gibeon. But it is self-evident sacrifices might have been offered where the ark was, and that even with greater right than in Gibeon; and since both David, upon its arrival (2Sa 6:17.)

, and Solomon after his accession (1Ki 3:15), offered sacrifices through the priests who were placed there, it is probable-and by a comparison of the Davidic Psalms not to be doubted-that there was a daily service, in conjunction with sacrifices, before the ark on Zion. But, moreover, is it really the אהל in Zion which is meant here in v. 8 by the house of God?

It is still maintained by renowned critics that the tabernacle pitched by David over the sacred ark is never called בית ה or היכל or משׁכן ה or מקדשׁ or קדשׁ. But why could it not have all these names? We will not appeal to the fact that the house of God at Shilo (1Sa 1:9; 1Sa 3:3) is called בית and היכל ה, since it may be objected that it was really more of a temple than a tabernacle, although in the same book, 1Sa 2:22 it is called אהל מועד, and in connection with the other appellations the poetic colouring of the historical style of 1 Sam 1-3 is to be taken into consideration.

Moreover, we put aside passages like Exo 23:19; Exo 34:26, since it may be said that the future Temple was present to the mind of the Lawgiver. But in Jos 6:24; 2Sa 12:20, the sanctuary is called בית ה without being conceived of as a temple. Why then cannot the tabernacle, which David pitched for the ark of the covenant when removed to Zion (2Sa 6:17), be called בית ה?

It is only when אהל and בּית are placed in opposition to one another that the latter has the notion of a dwelling built of more solid materials; but in itself beit (bêt) in Semitic is the generic term for housing of every kind whether it be made of wool, felt, and hair-cloth, or of earth, stone, and wood; consequently it is just as much a tent as a house (in the stricter sense of the word), whether the latter be a hut built of wood and clay or a palace. If a dwelling-house is frequently called אהל, then a tent that any one dwells in may the more naturally be called his בּית.

And this we find is actually the case with the dwellings of the patriarchs, which, although they were not generally solid houses (Gen 33:17), are called בית (Gen 27:15). Moreover, היכל (from יכל = כּוּל to hold, capacem esse ), although it signifies a palace does not necessarily signify one of stone, for the heavens are also called Jahve’s היכל, e. g. , Psa 18:7, and not necessarily one of gigantic proportions, for even the Holy of holies of Solomon’s Temple, and this par excellence , is called היכל, and once, 1Ki 6:3, היכל הבּית.

Of the spaciousness and general character of the Davidic tabernacle we know indeed nothing: it certainly had its splendour, and was not so much a substitute for the original tabernacle, which according to the testimony of the chronicler remained in Gibeon, as a substitute for the Temple that was still to be built. But, however insignificant it may have been, Jahve had His throne there, and it was therefore the היבל of a great king, just as the wall-less place in the open field where God manifested Himself with His angels to the homeless Jacob was בּית אלהים (Gen 28:17).

Into this tabernacle of God, i. e. , into its front court, will David enter (בּוא with acc . as in Psa 66:13) this morning, there will he prostrate himself in worship, προσκυνεῖν (השׁתּחוה) reflexive of the Pilel שׁחוה, Ges. §75, rem. 18), towards (אל as in Psa 28:2, 1Ki 8:29, 1Ki 8:35, cf. ל Psa 99:5, Psa 99:9) Jahve’s היכל קדשׁ, i. e. , the דּביר, the Holy of holies Psa 28:2, and that “in Thy fear,” i.

e. , in reverence before Thee ( genit. objectivus ). The going into the Temple which David purposes, leads his thoughts on to his way through life, and the special de'eesis, which only begins here, moulds itself accordingly: he prays for God’s gracious guidance as in Psa 27:11; Psa 86:11, and frequently. The direction of God, by which he wishes to be guided he calls צדקה.

Such is the general expression for the determination of conduct by an ethical rule. The rule, acting in accordance with which, God is called par excellence צדיק, is the order of salvation which opens up the way of mercy to sinners. When God forgives those who walk in this way their sins, and stands near to bless and protect them, He shows Himself not less צדיק (just), than when He destroys those who despise Him, in the heat of His rejected love.

By this righteousness, which accords with the counsel and order of mercy, David prays to be led למען שׁוררי, in order that the malicious desire of those who lie in wait for him may not be fulfilled, but put to shame, and that the honour of God may not be sullied by him. שׁורר is equivalent to משׁורר (Aquila ἐφοδεύων, Jerome insidiator ) from the Pilel שׁורר to fix one’s eyes sharply upon, especially of hostile observation.

David further prays that God will make his way (i. e. , the way in which a man must walk according to God’s will) even and straight before him, the prayer one, in order that he may walk therein without going astray and unimpeded. The adj. ישׂר signifies both the straightness of a line and the evenness of a surface. The fut . of the Hiph . הישׁיר is יישׁיר in Pro 4:25, and accordingly the Kerî substitutes for the imper .

הושׁר the corresponding form הישׁר, just as in Isa 45:2 it removes the Hiphil form אושׁר (cf. Gen 8:17 הוצא Keri היצא), without any grammatical, but certainly not without some traditional ground. כּי in Psa 5:10 is closely connected with למען שׁוררי: on account of my way-layers, for the following are their characteristics. אין is separated by בּפיהוּ (= בּפיו Psa 62:5) from נכונה the word it governs; this was the more easily possible as the usage of the language almost entirely lost sight of the fact that אין is the construct of אין, Ges.

§152, 1. In his mouth is nothing that should stand firm, keep its ground, remain the same (cf. Job 42:7.) The singular suffix of בפיהו has a distributive meaning: in ore unuiscujusque eorum . Hence the sing . at once passes over into the plur . : קרבּם הוּות their inward part, i. e. , that towards which it goes forth and in which it has its rise (vid. , Psa 49:12) is הוות corruption, from הוּה which comes from הוה = Arab.

hawâ , to yawn, gape, χαίνειν, hiare , a yawning abyss and a gaping vacuum, and then, inasmuch as, starting from the primary idea of an empty space, the verbal significations libere ferri (especially from below upwards) and more particularly animo ad or in aliquid ferri are developed, it obtains the pathological sense of strong desire, passion, just as it does also the intellectual sense of a loose way of thinking proceeding from a self-willed tendency (vid. , Fleischer on Job 37:6).

In Hebrew the prevalent meaning of the word is corruption, Psa 57:2, which is a metaphor for the abyss, barathrum , (so far, but only so far Schultens on Pro 10:3 is right), and proceeding from this meaning it denotes both that which is physically corruptible (Job 6:30) and, as in the present passage and frequently, that which is corruptible from an ethical point of view. The meaning strong desire, in which הוּה looks as though it only differed from אוּה in one letter, occurs only in Psa 52:9; Pro 10:3; Mic 7:3.

The substance of their inward part is that which is corruptible in every way, and their throat, as the organ of speech, as in Psa 115:7; Psa 149:6, cf. Psa 69:4, is (perhaps a figure connected with the primary meaning of הוות) a grave, which yawns like jaws, which open and snatch and swallow down whatever comes in their way. To this “they make smooth their tongue” is added as a circumstantial clause.

Their throat is thus formed and adapted, while they make smooth their tongue (cf. Pro 2:16), in order to conceal their real design beneath flattering language. From this meaning, החליק directly signifies to flatter in Psa 36:3; Pro 29:5. The last two lines of the strophe are formed according to the caesura schema. This schema is also continued in the concluding strophe.

Psa 5:7-9 (Hebrew_Bible_5:8-10) Since the Psalm is a morning hymn, the futt . in Psa 5:8 state what he, on the contrary, may and will do (Psa 66:13). By the greatness and fulness of divine favour (Psa 116:14) he has access (εἴσοδον, for בּוא means, according to its root, “to enter”) to the sanctuary, and he will accordingly repair thither to-day. It is the tabernacle on Zion in which was the ark of the covenant that is meant here.

That daily liturgical service was celebrated there must be assumed, since the ark of the covenant is the sign and pledge of Jahve’s presence; and it is, moreover, attested by 1Ch 16:37. It is also to be supposed that sacrifice was offered daily before the tabernacle. For it is not to be inferred from 1Ch 16:39. that sacrifice was only offered regularly on the Bama (high place) in Gibeon before the Mosaic tabernacle.

It is true sacrifice was offered in Gibeon, where the old tabernacle and the old altars (or at least the altar of burnt-offering) were, and also that after the removal of the ark to Zion both David (1Ch 21:29.) and Solomon (1Ki 3:4; 2Ch 1:2-6) worshipped and sacrificed in Gibeon. But it is self-evident sacrifices might have been offered where the ark was, and that even with greater right than in Gibeon; and since both David, upon its arrival (2Sa 6:17.)

, and Solomon after his accession (1Ki 3:15), offered sacrifices through the priests who were placed there, it is probable-and by a comparison of the Davidic Psalms not to be doubted-that there was a daily service, in conjunction with sacrifices, before the ark on Zion. But, moreover, is it really the אהל in Zion which is meant here in v. 8 by the house of God?

It is still maintained by renowned critics that the tabernacle pitched by David over the sacred ark is never called בית ה or היכל or משׁכן ה or מקדשׁ or קדשׁ. But why could it not have all these names? We will not appeal to the fact that the house of God at Shilo (1Sa 1:9; 1Sa 3:3) is called בית and היכל ה, since it may be objected that it was really more of a temple than a tabernacle, although in the same book, 1Sa 2:22 it is called אהל מועד, and in connection with the other appellations the poetic colouring of the historical style of 1 Sam 1-3 is to be taken into consideration.

Moreover, we put aside passages like Exo 23:19; Exo 34:26, since it may be said that the future Temple was present to the mind of the Lawgiver. But in Jos 6:24; 2Sa 12:20, the sanctuary is called בית ה without being conceived of as a temple. Why then cannot the tabernacle, which David pitched for the ark of the covenant when removed to Zion (2Sa 6:17), be called בית ה?

It is only when אהל and בּית are placed in opposition to one another that the latter has the notion of a dwelling built of more solid materials; but in itself beit (bêt) in Semitic is the generic term for housing of every kind whether it be made of wool, felt, and hair-cloth, or of earth, stone, and wood; consequently it is just as much a tent as a house (in the stricter sense of the word), whether the latter be a hut built of wood and clay or a palace. If a dwelling-house is frequently called אהל, then a tent that any one dwells in may the more naturally be called his בּית.

And this we find is actually the case with the dwellings of the patriarchs, which, although they were not generally solid houses (Gen 33:17), are called בית (Gen 27:15). Moreover, היכל (from יכל = כּוּל to hold, capacem esse ), although it signifies a palace does not necessarily signify one of stone, for the heavens are also called Jahve’s היכל, e. g. , Psa 18:7, and not necessarily one of gigantic proportions, for even the Holy of holies of Solomon’s Temple, and this par excellence , is called היכל, and once, 1Ki 6:3, היכל הבּית.

Of the spaciousness and general character of the Davidic tabernacle we know indeed nothing: it certainly had its splendour, and was not so much a substitute for the original tabernacle, which according to the testimony of the chronicler remained in Gibeon, as a substitute for the Temple that was still to be built. But, however insignificant it may have been, Jahve had His throne there, and it was therefore the היבל of a great king, just as the wall-less place in the open field where God manifested Himself with His angels to the homeless Jacob was בּית אלהים (Gen 28:17).

Into this tabernacle of God, i. e. , into its front court, will David enter (בּוא with acc . as in Psa 66:13) this morning, there will he prostrate himself in worship, προσκυνεῖν (השׁתּחוה) reflexive of the Pilel שׁחוה, Ges. §75, rem. 18), towards (אל as in Psa 28:2, 1Ki 8:29, 1Ki 8:35, cf. ל Psa 99:5, Psa 99:9) Jahve’s היכל קדשׁ, i. e. , the דּביר, the Holy of holies Psa 28:2, and that “in Thy fear,” i.

e. , in reverence before Thee ( genit. objectivus ). The going into the Temple which David purposes, leads his thoughts on to his way through life, and the special de'eesis, which only begins here, moulds itself accordingly: he prays for God’s gracious guidance as in Psa 27:11; Psa 86:11, and frequently. The direction of God, by which he wishes to be guided he calls צדקה.

Such is the general expression for the determination of conduct by an ethical rule. The rule, acting in accordance with which, God is called par excellence צדיק, is the order of salvation which opens up the way of mercy to sinners. When God forgives those who walk in this way their sins, and stands near to bless and protect them, He shows Himself not less צדיק (just), than when He destroys those who despise Him, in the heat of His rejected love.

By this righteousness, which accords with the counsel and order of mercy, David prays to be led למען שׁוררי, in order that the malicious desire of those who lie in wait for him may not be fulfilled, but put to shame, and that the honour of God may not be sullied by him. שׁורר is equivalent to משׁורר (Aquila ἐφοδεύων, Jerome insidiator ) from the Pilel שׁורר to fix one’s eyes sharply upon, especially of hostile observation.

David further prays that God will make his way (i. e. , the way in which a man must walk according to God’s will) even and straight before him, the prayer one, in order that he may walk therein without going astray and unimpeded. The adj. ישׂר signifies both the straightness of a line and the evenness of a surface. The fut . of the Hiph . הישׁיר is יישׁיר in Pro 4:25, and accordingly the Kerî substitutes for the imper .

הושׁר the corresponding form הישׁר, just as in Isa 45:2 it removes the Hiphil form אושׁר (cf. Gen 8:17 הוצא Keri היצא), without any grammatical, but certainly not without some traditional ground. כּי in Psa 5:10 is closely connected with למען שׁוררי: on account of my way-layers, for the following are their characteristics. אין is separated by בּפיהוּ (= בּפיו Psa 62:5) from נכונה the word it governs; this was the more easily possible as the usage of the language almost entirely lost sight of the fact that אין is the construct of אין, Ges.

§152, 1. In his mouth is nothing that should stand firm, keep its ground, remain the same (cf. Job 42:7.) The singular suffix of בפיהו has a distributive meaning: in ore unuiscujusque eorum . Hence the sing . at once passes over into the plur . : קרבּם הוּות their inward part, i. e. , that towards which it goes forth and in which it has its rise (vid. , Psa 49:12) is הוות corruption, from הוּה which comes from הוה = Arab.

hawâ , to yawn, gape, χαίνειν, hiare , a yawning abyss and a gaping vacuum, and then, inasmuch as, starting from the primary idea of an empty space, the verbal significations libere ferri (especially from below upwards) and more particularly animo ad or in aliquid ferri are developed, it obtains the pathological sense of strong desire, passion, just as it does also the intellectual sense of a loose way of thinking proceeding from a self-willed tendency (vid. , Fleischer on Job 37:6).

In Hebrew the prevalent meaning of the word is corruption, Psa 57:2, which is a metaphor for the abyss, barathrum , (so far, but only so far Schultens on Pro 10:3 is right), and proceeding from this meaning it denotes both that which is physically corruptible (Job 6:30) and, as in the present passage and frequently, that which is corruptible from an ethical point of view. The meaning strong desire, in which הוּה looks as though it only differed from אוּה in one letter, occurs only in Psa 52:9; Pro 10:3; Mic 7:3.

The substance of their inward part is that which is corruptible in every way, and their throat, as the organ of speech, as in Psa 115:7; Psa 149:6, cf. Psa 69:4, is (perhaps a figure connected with the primary meaning of הוות) a grave, which yawns like jaws, which open and snatch and swallow down whatever comes in their way. To this “they make smooth their tongue” is added as a circumstantial clause.

Their throat is thus formed and adapted, while they make smooth their tongue (cf. Pro 2:16), in order to conceal their real design beneath flattering language. From this meaning, החליק directly signifies to flatter in Psa 36:3; Pro 29:5. The last two lines of the strophe are formed according to the caesura schema. This schema is also continued in the concluding strophe.

Psa 5:7-9 (Hebrew_Bible_5:8-10) Since the Psalm is a morning hymn, the futt . in Psa 5:8 state what he, on the contrary, may and will do (Psa 66:13). By the greatness and fulness of divine favour (Psa 116:14) he has access (εἴσοδον, for בּוא means, according to its root, “to enter”) to the sanctuary, and he will accordingly repair thither to-day. It is the tabernacle on Zion in which was the ark of the covenant that is meant here.

That daily liturgical service was celebrated there must be assumed, since the ark of the covenant is the sign and pledge of Jahve’s presence; and it is, moreover, attested by 1Ch 16:37. It is also to be supposed that sacrifice was offered daily before the tabernacle. For it is not to be inferred from 1Ch 16:39. that sacrifice was only offered regularly on the Bama (high place) in Gibeon before the Mosaic tabernacle.

It is true sacrifice was offered in Gibeon, where the old tabernacle and the old altars (or at least the altar of burnt-offering) were, and also that after the removal of the ark to Zion both David (1Ch 21:29.) and Solomon (1Ki 3:4; 2Ch 1:2-6) worshipped and sacrificed in Gibeon. But it is self-evident sacrifices might have been offered where the ark was, and that even with greater right than in Gibeon; and since both David, upon its arrival (2Sa 6:17.)

, and Solomon after his accession (1Ki 3:15), offered sacrifices through the priests who were placed there, it is probable-and by a comparison of the Davidic Psalms not to be doubted-that there was a daily service, in conjunction with sacrifices, before the ark on Zion. But, moreover, is it really the אהל in Zion which is meant here in v. 8 by the house of God?

It is still maintained by renowned critics that the tabernacle pitched by David over the sacred ark is never called בית ה or היכל or משׁכן ה or מקדשׁ or קדשׁ. But why could it not have all these names? We will not appeal to the fact that the house of God at Shilo (1Sa 1:9; 1Sa 3:3) is called בית and היכל ה, since it may be objected that it was really more of a temple than a tabernacle, although in the same book, 1Sa 2:22 it is called אהל מועד, and in connection with the other appellations the poetic colouring of the historical style of 1 Sam 1-3 is to be taken into consideration.

Moreover, we put aside passages like Exo 23:19; Exo 34:26, since it may be said that the future Temple was present to the mind of the Lawgiver. But in Jos 6:24; 2Sa 12:20, the sanctuary is called בית ה without being conceived of as a temple. Why then cannot the tabernacle, which David pitched for the ark of the covenant when removed to Zion (2Sa 6:17), be called בית ה?

It is only when אהל and בּית are placed in opposition to one another that the latter has the notion of a dwelling built of more solid materials; but in itself beit (bêt) in Semitic is the generic term for housing of every kind whether it be made of wool, felt, and hair-cloth, or of earth, stone, and wood; consequently it is just as much a tent as a house (in the stricter sense of the word), whether the latter be a hut built of wood and clay or a palace. If a dwelling-house is frequently called אהל, then a tent that any one dwells in may the more naturally be called his בּית.

And this we find is actually the case with the dwellings of the patriarchs, which, although they were not generally solid houses (Gen 33:17), are called בית (Gen 27:15). Moreover, היכל (from יכל = כּוּל to hold, capacem esse ), although it signifies a palace does not necessarily signify one of stone, for the heavens are also called Jahve’s היכל, e. g. , Psa 18:7, and not necessarily one of gigantic proportions, for even the Holy of holies of Solomon’s Temple, and this par excellence , is called היכל, and once, 1Ki 6:3, היכל הבּית.

Of the spaciousness and general character of the Davidic tabernacle we know indeed nothing: it certainly had its splendour, and was not so much a substitute for the original tabernacle, which according to the testimony of the chronicler remained in Gibeon, as a substitute for the Temple that was still to be built. But, however insignificant it may have been, Jahve had His throne there, and it was therefore the היבל of a great king, just as the wall-less place in the open field where God manifested Himself with His angels to the homeless Jacob was בּית אלהים (Gen 28:17).

Into this tabernacle of God, i. e. , into its front court, will David enter (בּוא with acc . as in Psa 66:13) this morning, there will he prostrate himself in worship, προσκυνεῖν (השׁתּחוה) reflexive of the Pilel שׁחוה, Ges. §75, rem. 18), towards (אל as in Psa 28:2, 1Ki 8:29, 1Ki 8:35, cf. ל Psa 99:5, Psa 99:9) Jahve’s היכל קדשׁ, i. e. , the דּביר, the Holy of holies Psa 28:2, and that “in Thy fear,” i.

e. , in reverence before Thee ( genit. objectivus ). The going into the Temple which David purposes, leads his thoughts on to his way through life, and the special de'eesis, which only begins here, moulds itself accordingly: he prays for God’s gracious guidance as in Psa 27:11; Psa 86:11, and frequently. The direction of God, by which he wishes to be guided he calls צדקה.

Such is the general expression for the determination of conduct by an ethical rule. The rule, acting in accordance with which, God is called par excellence צדיק, is the order of salvation which opens up the way of mercy to sinners. When God forgives those who walk in this way their sins, and stands near to bless and protect them, He shows Himself not less צדיק (just), than when He destroys those who despise Him, in the heat of His rejected love.

By this righteousness, which accords with the counsel and order of mercy, David prays to be led למען שׁוררי, in order that the malicious desire of those who lie in wait for him may not be fulfilled, but put to shame, and that the honour of God may not be sullied by him. שׁורר is equivalent to משׁורר (Aquila ἐφοδεύων, Jerome insidiator ) from the Pilel שׁורר to fix one’s eyes sharply upon, especially of hostile observation.

David further prays that God will make his way (i. e. , the way in which a man must walk according to God’s will) even and straight before him, the prayer one, in order that he may walk therein without going astray and unimpeded. The adj. ישׂר signifies both the straightness of a line and the evenness of a surface. The fut . of the Hiph . הישׁיר is יישׁיר in Pro 4:25, and accordingly the Kerî substitutes for the imper .

הושׁר the corresponding form הישׁר, just as in Isa 45:2 it removes the Hiphil form אושׁר (cf. Gen 8:17 הוצא Keri היצא), without any grammatical, but certainly not without some traditional ground. כּי in Psa 5:10 is closely connected with למען שׁוררי: on account of my way-layers, for the following are their characteristics. אין is separated by בּפיהוּ (= בּפיו Psa 62:5) from נכונה the word it governs; this was the more easily possible as the usage of the language almost entirely lost sight of the fact that אין is the construct of אין, Ges.

§152, 1. In his mouth is nothing that should stand firm, keep its ground, remain the same (cf. Job 42:7.) The singular suffix of בפיהו has a distributive meaning: in ore unuiscujusque eorum . Hence the sing . at once passes over into the plur . : קרבּם הוּות their inward part, i. e. , that towards which it goes forth and in which it has its rise (vid. , Psa 49:12) is הוות corruption, from הוּה which comes from הוה = Arab.

hawâ , to yawn, gape, χαίνειν, hiare , a yawning abyss and a gaping vacuum, and then, inasmuch as, starting from the primary idea of an empty space, the verbal significations libere ferri (especially from below upwards) and more particularly animo ad or in aliquid ferri are developed, it obtains the pathological sense of strong desire, passion, just as it does also the intellectual sense of a loose way of thinking proceeding from a self-willed tendency (vid. , Fleischer on Job 37:6).

In Hebrew the prevalent meaning of the word is corruption, Psa 57:2, which is a metaphor for the abyss, barathrum , (so far, but only so far Schultens on Pro 10:3 is right), and proceeding from this meaning it denotes both that which is physically corruptible (Job 6:30) and, as in the present passage and frequently, that which is corruptible from an ethical point of view. The meaning strong desire, in which הוּה looks as though it only differed from אוּה in one letter, occurs only in Psa 52:9; Pro 10:3; Mic 7:3.

The substance of their inward part is that which is corruptible in every way, and their throat, as the organ of speech, as in Psa 115:7; Psa 149:6, cf. Psa 69:4, is (perhaps a figure connected with the primary meaning of הוות) a grave, which yawns like jaws, which open and snatch and swallow down whatever comes in their way. To this “they make smooth their tongue” is added as a circumstantial clause.

Their throat is thus formed and adapted, while they make smooth their tongue (cf. Pro 2:16), in order to conceal their real design beneath flattering language. From this meaning, החליק directly signifies to flatter in Psa 36:3; Pro 29:5. The last two lines of the strophe are formed according to the caesura schema. This schema is also continued in the concluding strophe.

Psa 5:10-12 (Hebrew_Bible_5:11-13) The verb אשׁם or אשׁם unites in itself the three closely allied meanings of becoming guilty (e. g. , Lev 5:19), of a feeling of guilt (Lev 5:4.) , and of expiation (Psa 34:22.) ; just as the verbal adj. אשׁם also signifies both liable to punishment and expiating, and the substantive אשׁם both the guilt to be expiated and the expiation.

The Hiph . האשׁים signifies to cause any one to render the expiation due to his fault, to make him do penance. As an exception God is here, in the midst of the Jehovic Psalms, called אלהים, perhaps not altogether unintentionally as being God the Judge. The מן of ממּעצותיהם (with Gaja by the מן and a transition of the counter-tone Metheg into Galgal , as in Hos 11:6 into Meajla , vid.

, Psalter ii. 526) is certainly that of the cause in Hos 11:6, but here it is to be explained with Olsh. and Hitz. according to Sir. 14:2, Judith 11:6 (cf. Hos 10:6): may they fall from their own counsels, i. e. , founder in the execution of them. Therefore מן in the sense of “down from, away,” a sense which the parallel הדּיחמו thrust them away (cf. דּחוּ from דּחה Ps 36:13), presupposes.

The ב of בּרב is to be understood according to Joh 8:21, Joh 8:24 “ye shall die ἐν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ὑμῶν." The multitude of their transgressions shall remain unforgiven and in this state God is to cast them into hades. The ground of this terrible prayer is set forth by כּי מרוּ בך. The tone of מרוּ, for a well-known reason (cf. e. g. , Psa 37:40; 64:11; Psa 72:17) has retreated to the penult .

מרה, root מר, prop. to be or hold one’s self stiff towards any one, compare Arab. mârr , tmârr , to press and stiffen against one another in wrestling, Arab. mârâ , tmârâ , to struggle against anything, whether with outward or mental and moral opposition. Their obstinacy is not obstinacy against a man, but against God Himself; their sin is, therefore, Satanic and on that account unpardonable.

All the prayers of this character are based upon the assumption expressed in Psa 7:13, that those against whom they are directed do not wish for mercy. Accordingly their removal is prayed for. Their removal will make the ecclesia pressa free and therefore joyous. From this point of view the prayer in Psa 5:12 is inspired by the prospect of the result of their removal.

The futt . do not express a wish, but a consequence. The division of the verse is, however, incorrect. The rise of the first half of the verse closes with בך (the pausal form by Pazer ), its fall is לעולם ירנּנוּ; then the rise begins anew in the second half, extending to בך which ought likewise to be pointed בך, and אהבי שׁמך is its fall. ותסך עלימו (from הסך Hiph .

of סכך Psa 91:4) is awkward in this sequence of thoughts. Hupfeld and Hitzig render it: “they shall rejoice for ever whom Thou defendest;” but then it ought not only to be pointed ירנּנוּ, but the ו must also be removed, and yet there is nothing to characterise תסך עלימו as being virtually a subject. On the other hand it does not harmonise with the other consecutive futures.

It must therefore, like יפּלוּ, be the optative: “And do Thou defend them, then shall those who love Thy name rejoice in Thee. ” And then upon this this joy of those who love the name of Jahve (i. e. , God in His revelation of Himself in redemption) Ps 69:37; Psa 119:132, is based by כּי־אתּה from a fact of universal experience which is the sum of all His historical self-attestations.

עלימו is used instead of עליהם as a graver form of expression, just like הדּיחמו for הדּיחם as an indignant one. The form ויעלצוּ (Ges. §§63, 3) is chosen instead of the יעלצוּ found in Psa 25:2; Psa 68:4, in order to assist the rhythm. The futt . are continuative. תּעטרנּוּ, cinges eum , is not a contracted Hiph . according to 1Sa 17:25, but Kal as in 1Sa 23:26; here it is used like the Piel in Psa 8:6 with a double accusative.

The צנּה (from צנן Arab. tsân , med. Waw , Aethiop. צון to hedge round, guard) is a shield of a largest dimensions; larger than מגן 1Ki 10:16. (cf. 1Sa 17:7, where Goliath has his צנּה borne by a shield-bearer). כּצּנּה “like a shield” is equivalent to: as with a shield (Ges. §118, 3, rem.) The name of God, יהוה, is correctly drawn to the second member of the verse by the accentuation, in order to balance it with the first; and for this reason the first clause does not begin with כי־אתה יהוה here as it does elsewhere (Ps 4:9; Psa 12:8).

רצון delight, goodwill, is also a synonym for the divine blessing in Deu 33:23.

Psa 5:10-12 (Hebrew_Bible_5:11-13) The verb אשׁם or אשׁם unites in itself the three closely allied meanings of becoming guilty (e. g. , Lev 5:19), of a feeling of guilt (Lev 5:4.) , and of expiation (Psa 34:22.) ; just as the verbal adj. אשׁם also signifies both liable to punishment and expiating, and the substantive אשׁם both the guilt to be expiated and the expiation.

The Hiph . האשׁים signifies to cause any one to render the expiation due to his fault, to make him do penance. As an exception God is here, in the midst of the Jehovic Psalms, called אלהים, perhaps not altogether unintentionally as being God the Judge. The מן of ממּעצותיהם (with Gaja by the מן and a transition of the counter-tone Metheg into Galgal , as in Hos 11:6 into Meajla , vid.

, Psalter ii. 526) is certainly that of the cause in Hos 11:6, but here it is to be explained with Olsh. and Hitz. according to Sir. 14:2, Judith 11:6 (cf. Hos 10:6): may they fall from their own counsels, i. e. , founder in the execution of them. Therefore מן in the sense of “down from, away,” a sense which the parallel הדּיחמו thrust them away (cf. דּחוּ from דּחה Ps 36:13), presupposes.

The ב of בּרב is to be understood according to Joh 8:21, Joh 8:24 “ye shall die ἐν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ὑμῶν." The multitude of their transgressions shall remain unforgiven and in this state God is to cast them into hades. The ground of this terrible prayer is set forth by כּי מרוּ בך. The tone of מרוּ, for a well-known reason (cf. e. g. , Psa 37:40; 64:11; Psa 72:17) has retreated to the penult .

מרה, root מר, prop. to be or hold one’s self stiff towards any one, compare Arab. mârr , tmârr , to press and stiffen against one another in wrestling, Arab. mârâ , tmârâ , to struggle against anything, whether with outward or mental and moral opposition. Their obstinacy is not obstinacy against a man, but against God Himself; their sin is, therefore, Satanic and on that account unpardonable.

All the prayers of this character are based upon the assumption expressed in Psa 7:13, that those against whom they are directed do not wish for mercy. Accordingly their removal is prayed for. Their removal will make the ecclesia pressa free and therefore joyous. From this point of view the prayer in Psa 5:12 is inspired by the prospect of the result of their removal.

The futt . do not express a wish, but a consequence. The division of the verse is, however, incorrect. The rise of the first half of the verse closes with בך (the pausal form by Pazer ), its fall is לעולם ירנּנוּ; then the rise begins anew in the second half, extending to בך which ought likewise to be pointed בך, and אהבי שׁמך is its fall. ותסך עלימו (from הסך Hiph .

of סכך Psa 91:4) is awkward in this sequence of thoughts. Hupfeld and Hitzig render it: “they shall rejoice for ever whom Thou defendest;” but then it ought not only to be pointed ירנּנוּ, but the ו must also be removed, and yet there is nothing to characterise תסך עלימו as being virtually a subject. On the other hand it does not harmonise with the other consecutive futures.

It must therefore, like יפּלוּ, be the optative: “And do Thou defend them, then shall those who love Thy name rejoice in Thee. ” And then upon this this joy of those who love the name of Jahve (i. e. , God in His revelation of Himself in redemption) Ps 69:37; Psa 119:132, is based by כּי־אתּה from a fact of universal experience which is the sum of all His historical self-attestations.

עלימו is used instead of עליהם as a graver form of expression, just like הדּיחמו for הדּיחם as an indignant one. The form ויעלצוּ (Ges. §§63, 3) is chosen instead of the יעלצוּ found in Psa 25:2; Psa 68:4, in order to assist the rhythm. The futt . are continuative. תּעטרנּוּ, cinges eum , is not a contracted Hiph . according to 1Sa 17:25, but Kal as in 1Sa 23:26; here it is used like the Piel in Psa 8:6 with a double accusative.

The צנּה (from צנן Arab. tsân , med. Waw , Aethiop. צון to hedge round, guard) is a shield of a largest dimensions; larger than מגן 1Ki 10:16. (cf. 1Sa 17:7, where Goliath has his צנּה borne by a shield-bearer). כּצּנּה “like a shield” is equivalent to: as with a shield (Ges. §118, 3, rem.) The name of God, יהוה, is correctly drawn to the second member of the verse by the accentuation, in order to balance it with the first; and for this reason the first clause does not begin with כי־אתה יהוה here as it does elsewhere (Ps 4:9; Psa 12:8).

רצון delight, goodwill, is also a synonym for the divine blessing in Deu 33:23.

Psa 5:10-12 (Hebrew_Bible_5:11-13) The verb אשׁם or אשׁם unites in itself the three closely allied meanings of becoming guilty (e. g. , Lev 5:19), of a feeling of guilt (Lev 5:4.) , and of expiation (Psa 34:22.) ; just as the verbal adj. אשׁם also signifies both liable to punishment and expiating, and the substantive אשׁם both the guilt to be expiated and the expiation.

The Hiph . האשׁים signifies to cause any one to render the expiation due to his fault, to make him do penance. As an exception God is here, in the midst of the Jehovic Psalms, called אלהים, perhaps not altogether unintentionally as being God the Judge. The מן of ממּעצותיהם (with Gaja by the מן and a transition of the counter-tone Metheg into Galgal , as in Hos 11:6 into Meajla , vid.

, Psalter ii. 526) is certainly that of the cause in Hos 11:6, but here it is to be explained with Olsh. and Hitz. according to Sir. 14:2, Judith 11:6 (cf. Hos 10:6): may they fall from their own counsels, i. e. , founder in the execution of them. Therefore מן in the sense of “down from, away,” a sense which the parallel הדּיחמו thrust them away (cf. דּחוּ from דּחה Ps 36:13), presupposes.

The ב of בּרב is to be understood according to Joh 8:21, Joh 8:24 “ye shall die ἐν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ὑμῶν." The multitude of their transgressions shall remain unforgiven and in this state God is to cast them into hades. The ground of this terrible prayer is set forth by כּי מרוּ בך. The tone of מרוּ, for a well-known reason (cf. e. g. , Psa 37:40; 64:11; Psa 72:17) has retreated to the penult .

מרה, root מר, prop. to be or hold one’s self stiff towards any one, compare Arab. mârr , tmârr , to press and stiffen against one another in wrestling, Arab. mârâ , tmârâ , to struggle against anything, whether with outward or mental and moral opposition. Their obstinacy is not obstinacy against a man, but against God Himself; their sin is, therefore, Satanic and on that account unpardonable.

All the prayers of this character are based upon the assumption expressed in Psa 7:13, that those against whom they are directed do not wish for mercy. Accordingly their removal is prayed for. Their removal will make the ecclesia pressa free and therefore joyous. From this point of view the prayer in Psa 5:12 is inspired by the prospect of the result of their removal.

The futt . do not express a wish, but a consequence. The division of the verse is, however, incorrect. The rise of the first half of the verse closes with בך (the pausal form by Pazer ), its fall is לעולם ירנּנוּ; then the rise begins anew in the second half, extending to בך which ought likewise to be pointed בך, and אהבי שׁמך is its fall. ותסך עלימו (from הסך Hiph .

of סכך Psa 91:4) is awkward in this sequence of thoughts. Hupfeld and Hitzig render it: “they shall rejoice for ever whom Thou defendest;” but then it ought not only to be pointed ירנּנוּ, but the ו must also be removed, and yet there is nothing to characterise תסך עלימו as being virtually a subject. On the other hand it does not harmonise with the other consecutive futures.

It must therefore, like יפּלוּ, be the optative: “And do Thou defend them, then shall those who love Thy name rejoice in Thee. ” And then upon this this joy of those who love the name of Jahve (i. e. , God in His revelation of Himself in redemption) Ps 69:37; Psa 119:132, is based by כּי־אתּה from a fact of universal experience which is the sum of all His historical self-attestations.

עלימו is used instead of עליהם as a graver form of expression, just like הדּיחמו for הדּיחם as an indignant one. The form ויעלצוּ (Ges. §§63, 3) is chosen instead of the יעלצוּ found in Psa 25:2; Psa 68:4, in order to assist the rhythm. The futt . are continuative. תּעטרנּוּ, cinges eum , is not a contracted Hiph . according to 1Sa 17:25, but Kal as in 1Sa 23:26; here it is used like the Piel in Psa 8:6 with a double accusative.

The צנּה (from צנן Arab. tsân , med. Waw , Aethiop. צון to hedge round, guard) is a shield of a largest dimensions; larger than מגן 1Ki 10:16. (cf. 1Sa 17:7, where Goliath has his צנּה borne by a shield-bearer). כּצּנּה “like a shield” is equivalent to: as with a shield (Ges. §118, 3, rem.) The name of God, יהוה, is correctly drawn to the second member of the verse by the accentuation, in order to balance it with the first; and for this reason the first clause does not begin with כי־אתה יהוה here as it does elsewhere (Ps 4:9; Psa 12:8).

רצון delight, goodwill, is also a synonym for the divine blessing in Deu 33:23.

The morning prayer, Psa 5:1-12, is followed by a “Psalm of David,” which, even if not composed in the morning, looks back upon a sleepless, tearful night. It consists of three strophes. In the middle one, which is a third longer than the other two, the poet, by means of a calmer outpouring of his heart, struggles on from the cry of distress in the first strophe to the believing confidence of the last.

The hostility of men seems to him as a punishment of divine wrath, and consequently (but this is not so clearly expressed as in Ps 38, which is its counterpart) as the result of his sin; and this persecution, which to him has God’s wrath behind it and sin as the sting of its bitterness, makes him sorrowful and sick even unto death. Because the Psalm contains no confession of sin, one might be inclined to think that the church has wrongly reckoned it as the first of the seven (probably selected with reference to the seven days of the week) Psalmi paenitentiales (Psa 6:1, Psa 32:1, Psa 38:1, Psa 51:1, Psa 102:1, Psa 130:1, Psa 143:1).

A. H. Francke in his Introductio in Psalterium says, it is rather Psalmus precatorius hominis gravissimi tentati a paenitente probe distinguendi . But this is a mistake. The man who is tempted is distinguished from a penitent man by this, that the feeling of wrath is with the one perfectly groundless and with the other well-grounded. Job was one who was tempted thus.

Our psalmist, however, is a penitent, who accordingly seeks that the punitive chastisement of God, as the just God, may for him be changed into the loving chastisement of God, as the merciful One. We recognise here the language of penitently believing prayer, which has been coined by David. Compare Psa 6:2 with Psa 38:2; Psa 6:3 with Psa 41:5; Psa 6:5 with Psa 109:26; Psa 6:6 with Psa 30:10; Psa 6:7 with Psa 69:4; Psa 6:8 with Psa 31:10; Psa 6:10 with Psa 35:4, Psa 35:26.

The language of Heman’s Psalm is perceptibly different, comp. Psa 6:6 with Psa 88:11-13; Psa 6:8 with Psa 88:10. And the corresponding strains in Jeremiah (comp. Psa 6:2, Psa 38:2 with Jer 10:24; Psa 6:3 and Psa 6:5 with Jer 17:14; Psa 6:7 with Jer 45:3) are echoes, which to us prove that the Psalm belongs to an earlier age, not that it was composed by the prophet (Hitzig).

It is at once probable, from the almost anthological relationship in which Jeremiah stands to the earlier literature, that in the present instance also he is the reproducer. And this idea is confirmed by the fact that in Jer 10:25, after language resembling the Psalm before us, he continues in words taken from Psa 79:6. When Hitzig maintains that David could no more have composed this disconcertedly despondent Psalm than Isaiah could the words in Isa 21:3-4, we refer, in answer to him, to Isa 22:4 and to the many attestations that David did weep, 2Sa 1:12; 2Sa 3:32; 2Sa 12:21; 2Sa 15:30; 2Sa 19:1.

The accompanying musical direction runs: To the Precentor, with accompaniment of stringed instruments, upon the Octave. The lxx translates ὑπὲρ τῆς ὀγδόης, and the Fathers associate with it the thought of the octave of eternal happiness, ἡ ὀγδόη ἐκείνη, as Gregory of Nyssa says, ἥτίς ἐστιν ὁ ἐφεξῆς αἰών. But there is no doubt whatever that על־השּׁמינית has reference to music.

It is also found by Psa 12:1-8, and besides in 1Ch 15:21. From this latter passage it is at least clear that it is not the name of an instrument. An instrument with eight strings could not have been called an octave instead of an octachord . In that passage they played upon nablas על־עלמות, and with citherns על־השּׁמינית. If עלמות denotes maidens = maidens’ voices i.

e. , soprano , then, as it seems, השּׁמינית is a designation of the bass, and על־השׁמינית equivalent to all' ottava bassa . The fact that Psa 46:1-11, which is accompanied by the direction על־עלמות, is a joyous song, whereas Psa 6:1-10 is a plaintive one and Psa 12:1-8 not less gloomy and sad, accords with this. These two were to be played in the lower octave, that one in the higher.

Psa 6:1-3 (Hebrew_Bible_6:2-4) There is a chastisement which proceeds from God’s love to the man as being pardoned and which is designed to purify or to prove him, and a chastisement which proceeds from God’s wrath against the man as striving obstinately against, or as fallen away from, favour, and which satisfies divine justice. Psa 94:12; Psa 118:17; Pro 3:11.

speak of this loving chastisement. The man who should decline it, would act against his own salvation. Accordingly David, like Jeremiah (Jer 10:24), does not pray for the removal of the chastisement but of the chastisement in wrath, or what is the same thing, of the judgment proceeding from wrath [ Zorngericht ]. בּאפּך and בּחמתך stand in the middle, between אל and the verbs, for the sake of emphasis.

Hengstenberg indeed finds a different antithesis here. He says: “The contrast is not that of chastisement in love with chastisement in wrath , but that of loving rescue in contrast with chastisement, which always proceeds from the principle of wrath. ” If what is here meant is, that always when God chastens a man his wrath is the true and proper motive, it is an error, for the refutation of which one whole book of the Bible, viz.

, the Book of Job, has been written. For there the friends think that God is angry with Job; but we know from the prologue that, so far from being angry with him, he on the contrary glories in him. Here, in this Psalm, assuming David to be its author, and his adultery the occasion of it, it is certainly quite otherwise. The chastisement under which David is brought low, has God’s wrath as its motive: it is punitive chastisement and remains such, so long as David remains fallen from favour.

But if in sincere penitence he again struggles through to favour, then the punitive becomes a loving chastisement: God’s relationship to him becomes an essentially different relationship. The evil, which is the result of his sin and as such indeed originates in the principle of wrath, becomes the means of discipline and purifying which love employs, and this it is that he here implores for himself.

And thus Dante Alighieri correctly and beautifully paraphrases the verse: Signor, non mi riprender con furore, E non voler correggermi con ira, Ma con dolcezza e con perfetto amore . In חנּני David prays God to let him experience His loving-kindness and tender mercy in place of the punishment He has a right to inflict; for anguish of soul has already reduced him to the extreme even of bodily sickness: he is withered up and weary.

אמלל has Pathach , and consequently seems to be the 3 pers. Pul . as in Joe 1:10; Nah 1:4; but this cannot be according to the rules of grammar. It is an adjective, like רענן, שׁאנן, with the passive pointing. The formation אמלל (from אמל Arab. aml , with the primary meaning to stretch out lengthwise) is analogous to the IX and XI forms of the Arabic verb which serve especially to express colours and defects (Caspari §59).

The two words אני אמלל have the double accent Mercha-Mahpach together, and according to the exact mode of writing (vid. , Baer in my Psalter ii. 492) the Mahpach , (the sign resembling Mahpach or rather Jethib ), ought to stand between the two words, since it at the same time represents the Makkeph . The principal tone of the united pair, therefore, lies on aani ; and accordingly the adj.

אמלל is shortened to אמלל (cf. אדמדּם, הפכפּך, מרמס, and the like) - a contraction which proves that אמלל is not treated as part. Pul . (= מאמלל), for its characteristic a4 is unchangeable. The prayer for healing is based upon the plea that his bones (Job 4:14; Isa 38:13) are affrighted. We have no German word exactly corresponding to this נבהל which (from the radical notion “to let go,” cogn.

בּלהּ) expresses a condition of outward overthrow and inward consternation, and is therefore the effect of fright which disconcerts one and of excitement that deprives one of self-control. His soul is still more shaken than his body. The affliction is therefore not a merely bodily ailment in which only a timorous man loses heart. God’s love is hidden from him.

God’s wrath seems as though it would wear him completely away. It is an affliction beyond all other afflictions. Hence he enquires: And Thou, O Jahve, how long?! Instead of אתה it is written את, which the Kerî says is to be read אתּה, while in three passages (Num 11:15; Deu 5:24; Eze 28:14) אתּ is admitted as masc .

The morning prayer, Psa 5:1-12, is followed by a “Psalm of David,” which, even if not composed in the morning, looks back upon a sleepless, tearful night. It consists of three strophes. In the middle one, which is a third longer than the other two, the poet, by means of a calmer outpouring of his heart, struggles on from the cry of distress in the first strophe to the believing confidence of the last.

The hostility of men seems to him as a punishment of divine wrath, and consequently (but this is not so clearly expressed as in Ps 38, which is its counterpart) as the result of his sin; and this persecution, which to him has God’s wrath behind it and sin as the sting of its bitterness, makes him sorrowful and sick even unto death. Because the Psalm contains no confession of sin, one might be inclined to think that the church has wrongly reckoned it as the first of the seven (probably selected with reference to the seven days of the week) Psalmi paenitentiales (Psa 6:1, Psa 32:1, Psa 38:1, Psa 51:1, Psa 102:1, Psa 130:1, Psa 143:1).

A. H. Francke in his Introductio in Psalterium says, it is rather Psalmus precatorius hominis gravissimi tentati a paenitente probe distinguendi . But this is a mistake. The man who is tempted is distinguished from a penitent man by this, that the feeling of wrath is with the one perfectly groundless and with the other well-grounded. Job was one who was tempted thus.

Our psalmist, however, is a penitent, who accordingly seeks that the punitive chastisement of God, as the just God, may for him be changed into the loving chastisement of God, as the merciful One. We recognise here the language of penitently believing prayer, which has been coined by David. Compare Psa 6:2 with Psa 38:2; Psa 6:3 with Psa 41:5; Psa 6:5 with Psa 109:26; Psa 6:6 with Psa 30:10; Psa 6:7 with Psa 69:4; Psa 6:8 with Psa 31:10; Psa 6:10 with Psa 35:4, Psa 35:26.

The language of Heman’s Psalm is perceptibly different, comp. Psa 6:6 with Psa 88:11-13; Psa 6:8 with Psa 88:10. And the corresponding strains in Jeremiah (comp. Psa 6:2, Psa 38:2 with Jer 10:24; Psa 6:3 and Psa 6:5 with Jer 17:14; Psa 6:7 with Jer 45:3) are echoes, which to us prove that the Psalm belongs to an earlier age, not that it was composed by the prophet (Hitzig).

It is at once probable, from the almost anthological relationship in which Jeremiah stands to the earlier literature, that in the present instance also he is the reproducer. And this idea is confirmed by the fact that in Jer 10:25, after language resembling the Psalm before us, he continues in words taken from Psa 79:6. When Hitzig maintains that David could no more have composed this disconcertedly despondent Psalm than Isaiah could the words in Isa 21:3-4, we refer, in answer to him, to Isa 22:4 and to the many attestations that David did weep, 2Sa 1:12; 2Sa 3:32; 2Sa 12:21; 2Sa 15:30; 2Sa 19:1.

The accompanying musical direction runs: To the Precentor, with accompaniment of stringed instruments, upon the Octave. The lxx translates ὑπὲρ τῆς ὀγδόης, and the Fathers associate with it the thought of the octave of eternal happiness, ἡ ὀγδόη ἐκείνη, as Gregory of Nyssa says, ἥτίς ἐστιν ὁ ἐφεξῆς αἰών. But there is no doubt whatever that על־השּׁמינית has reference to music.

It is also found by Psa 12:1-8, and besides in 1Ch 15:21. From this latter passage it is at least clear that it is not the name of an instrument. An instrument with eight strings could not have been called an octave instead of an octachord . In that passage they played upon nablas על־עלמות, and with citherns על־השּׁמינית. If עלמות denotes maidens = maidens’ voices i.

e. , soprano , then, as it seems, השּׁמינית is a designation of the bass, and על־השׁמינית equivalent to all' ottava bassa . The fact that Psa 46:1-11, which is accompanied by the direction על־עלמות, is a joyous song, whereas Psa 6:1-10 is a plaintive one and Psa 12:1-8 not less gloomy and sad, accords with this. These two were to be played in the lower octave, that one in the higher.

Psa 6:1-3 (Hebrew_Bible_6:2-4) There is a chastisement which proceeds from God’s love to the man as being pardoned and which is designed to purify or to prove him, and a chastisement which proceeds from God’s wrath against the man as striving obstinately against, or as fallen away from, favour, and which satisfies divine justice. Psa 94:12; Psa 118:17; Pro 3:11.

speak of this loving chastisement. The man who should decline it, would act against his own salvation. Accordingly David, like Jeremiah (Jer 10:24), does not pray for the removal of the chastisement but of the chastisement in wrath, or what is the same thing, of the judgment proceeding from wrath [ Zorngericht ]. בּאפּך and בּחמתך stand in the middle, between אל and the verbs, for the sake of emphasis.

Hengstenberg indeed finds a different antithesis here. He says: “The contrast is not that of chastisement in love with chastisement in wrath , but that of loving rescue in contrast with chastisement, which always proceeds from the principle of wrath. ” If what is here meant is, that always when God chastens a man his wrath is the true and proper motive, it is an error, for the refutation of which one whole book of the Bible, viz.

, the Book of Job, has been written. For there the friends think that God is angry with Job; but we know from the prologue that, so far from being angry with him, he on the contrary glories in him. Here, in this Psalm, assuming David to be its author, and his adultery the occasion of it, it is certainly quite otherwise. The chastisement under which David is brought low, has God’s wrath as its motive: it is punitive chastisement and remains such, so long as David remains fallen from favour.

But if in sincere penitence he again struggles through to favour, then the punitive becomes a loving chastisement: God’s relationship to him becomes an essentially different relationship. The evil, which is the result of his sin and as such indeed originates in the principle of wrath, becomes the means of discipline and purifying which love employs, and this it is that he here implores for himself.

And thus Dante Alighieri correctly and beautifully paraphrases the verse: Signor, non mi riprender con furore, E non voler correggermi con ira, Ma con dolcezza e con perfetto amore . In חנּני David prays God to let him experience His loving-kindness and tender mercy in place of the punishment He has a right to inflict; for anguish of soul has already reduced him to the extreme even of bodily sickness: he is withered up and weary.

אמלל has Pathach , and consequently seems to be the 3 pers. Pul . as in Joe 1:10; Nah 1:4; but this cannot be according to the rules of grammar. It is an adjective, like רענן, שׁאנן, with the passive pointing. The formation אמלל (from אמל Arab. aml , with the primary meaning to stretch out lengthwise) is analogous to the IX and XI forms of the Arabic verb which serve especially to express colours and defects (Caspari §59).

The two words אני אמלל have the double accent Mercha-Mahpach together, and according to the exact mode of writing (vid. , Baer in my Psalter ii. 492) the Mahpach , (the sign resembling Mahpach or rather Jethib ), ought to stand between the two words, since it at the same time represents the Makkeph . The principal tone of the united pair, therefore, lies on aani ; and accordingly the adj.

אמלל is shortened to אמלל (cf. אדמדּם, הפכפּך, מרמס, and the like) - a contraction which proves that אמלל is not treated as part. Pul . (= מאמלל), for its characteristic a4 is unchangeable. The prayer for healing is based upon the plea that his bones (Job 4:14; Isa 38:13) are affrighted. We have no German word exactly corresponding to this נבהל which (from the radical notion “to let go,” cogn.

בּלהּ) expresses a condition of outward overthrow and inward consternation, and is therefore the effect of fright which disconcerts one and of excitement that deprives one of self-control. His soul is still more shaken than his body. The affliction is therefore not a merely bodily ailment in which only a timorous man loses heart. God’s love is hidden from him.

God’s wrath seems as though it would wear him completely away. It is an affliction beyond all other afflictions. Hence he enquires: And Thou, O Jahve, how long?! Instead of אתה it is written את, which the Kerî says is to be read אתּה, while in three passages (Num 11:15; Deu 5:24; Eze 28:14) אתּ is admitted as masc .

The morning prayer, Psa 5:1-12, is followed by a “Psalm of David,” which, even if not composed in the morning, looks back upon a sleepless, tearful night. It consists of three strophes. In the middle one, which is a third longer than the other two, the poet, by means of a calmer outpouring of his heart, struggles on from the cry of distress in the first strophe to the believing confidence of the last.

The hostility of men seems to him as a punishment of divine wrath, and consequently (but this is not so clearly expressed as in Ps 38, which is its counterpart) as the result of his sin; and this persecution, which to him has God’s wrath behind it and sin as the sting of its bitterness, makes him sorrowful and sick even unto death. Because the Psalm contains no confession of sin, one might be inclined to think that the church has wrongly reckoned it as the first of the seven (probably selected with reference to the seven days of the week) Psalmi paenitentiales (Psa 6:1, Psa 32:1, Psa 38:1, Psa 51:1, Psa 102:1, Psa 130:1, Psa 143:1).

A. H. Francke in his Introductio in Psalterium says, it is rather Psalmus precatorius hominis gravissimi tentati a paenitente probe distinguendi . But this is a mistake. The man who is tempted is distinguished from a penitent man by this, that the feeling of wrath is with the one perfectly groundless and with the other well-grounded. Job was one who was tempted thus.

Our psalmist, however, is a penitent, who accordingly seeks that the punitive chastisement of God, as the just God, may for him be changed into the loving chastisement of God, as the merciful One. We recognise here the language of penitently believing prayer, which has been coined by David. Compare Psa 6:2 with Psa 38:2; Psa 6:3 with Psa 41:5; Psa 6:5 with Psa 109:26; Psa 6:6 with Psa 30:10; Psa 6:7 with Psa 69:4; Psa 6:8 with Psa 31:10; Psa 6:10 with Psa 35:4, Psa 35:26.

The language of Heman’s Psalm is perceptibly different, comp. Psa 6:6 with Psa 88:11-13; Psa 6:8 with Psa 88:10. And the corresponding strains in Jeremiah (comp. Psa 6:2, Psa 38:2 with Jer 10:24; Psa 6:3 and Psa 6:5 with Jer 17:14; Psa 6:7 with Jer 45:3) are echoes, which to us prove that the Psalm belongs to an earlier age, not that it was composed by the prophet (Hitzig).

It is at once probable, from the almost anthological relationship in which Jeremiah stands to the earlier literature, that in the present instance also he is the reproducer. And this idea is confirmed by the fact that in Jer 10:25, after language resembling the Psalm before us, he continues in words taken from Psa 79:6. When Hitzig maintains that David could no more have composed this disconcertedly despondent Psalm than Isaiah could the words in Isa 21:3-4, we refer, in answer to him, to Isa 22:4 and to the many attestations that David did weep, 2Sa 1:12; 2Sa 3:32; 2Sa 12:21; 2Sa 15:30; 2Sa 19:1.

The accompanying musical direction runs: To the Precentor, with accompaniment of stringed instruments, upon the Octave. The lxx translates ὑπὲρ τῆς ὀγδόης, and the Fathers associate with it the thought of the octave of eternal happiness, ἡ ὀγδόη ἐκείνη, as Gregory of Nyssa says, ἥτίς ἐστιν ὁ ἐφεξῆς αἰών. But there is no doubt whatever that על־השּׁמינית has reference to music.

It is also found by Psa 12:1-8, and besides in 1Ch 15:21. From this latter passage it is at least clear that it is not the name of an instrument. An instrument with eight strings could not have been called an octave instead of an octachord . In that passage they played upon nablas על־עלמות, and with citherns על־השּׁמינית. If עלמות denotes maidens = maidens’ voices i.

e. , soprano , then, as it seems, השּׁמינית is a designation of the bass, and על־השׁמינית equivalent to all' ottava bassa . The fact that Psa 46:1-11, which is accompanied by the direction על־עלמות, is a joyous song, whereas Psa 6:1-10 is a plaintive one and Psa 12:1-8 not less gloomy and sad, accords with this. These two were to be played in the lower octave, that one in the higher.

Psa 6:1-3 (Hebrew_Bible_6:2-4) There is a chastisement which proceeds from God’s love to the man as being pardoned and which is designed to purify or to prove him, and a chastisement which proceeds from God’s wrath against the man as striving obstinately against, or as fallen away from, favour, and which satisfies divine justice. Psa 94:12; Psa 118:17; Pro 3:11.

speak of this loving chastisement. The man who should decline it, would act against his own salvation. Accordingly David, like Jeremiah (Jer 10:24), does not pray for the removal of the chastisement but of the chastisement in wrath, or what is the same thing, of the judgment proceeding from wrath [ Zorngericht ]. בּאפּך and בּחמתך stand in the middle, between אל and the verbs, for the sake of emphasis.

Hengstenberg indeed finds a different antithesis here. He says: “The contrast is not that of chastisement in love with chastisement in wrath , but that of loving rescue in contrast with chastisement, which always proceeds from the principle of wrath. ” If what is here meant is, that always when God chastens a man his wrath is the true and proper motive, it is an error, for the refutation of which one whole book of the Bible, viz.

, the Book of Job, has been written. For there the friends think that God is angry with Job; but we know from the prologue that, so far from being angry with him, he on the contrary glories in him. Here, in this Psalm, assuming David to be its author, and his adultery the occasion of it, it is certainly quite otherwise. The chastisement under which David is brought low, has God’s wrath as its motive: it is punitive chastisement and remains such, so long as David remains fallen from favour.

But if in sincere penitence he again struggles through to favour, then the punitive becomes a loving chastisement: God’s relationship to him becomes an essentially different relationship. The evil, which is the result of his sin and as such indeed originates in the principle of wrath, becomes the means of discipline and purifying which love employs, and this it is that he here implores for himself.

And thus Dante Alighieri correctly and beautifully paraphrases the verse: Signor, non mi riprender con furore, E non voler correggermi con ira, Ma con dolcezza e con perfetto amore . In חנּני David prays God to let him experience His loving-kindness and tender mercy in place of the punishment He has a right to inflict; for anguish of soul has already reduced him to the extreme even of bodily sickness: he is withered up and weary.

אמלל has Pathach , and consequently seems to be the 3 pers. Pul . as in Joe 1:10; Nah 1:4; but this cannot be according to the rules of grammar. It is an adjective, like רענן, שׁאנן, with the passive pointing. The formation אמלל (from אמל Arab. aml , with the primary meaning to stretch out lengthwise) is analogous to the IX and XI forms of the Arabic verb which serve especially to express colours and defects (Caspari §59).

The two words אני אמלל have the double accent Mercha-Mahpach together, and according to the exact mode of writing (vid. , Baer in my Psalter ii. 492) the Mahpach , (the sign resembling Mahpach or rather Jethib ), ought to stand between the two words, since it at the same time represents the Makkeph . The principal tone of the united pair, therefore, lies on aani ; and accordingly the adj.

אמלל is shortened to אמלל (cf. אדמדּם, הפכפּך, מרמס, and the like) - a contraction which proves that אמלל is not treated as part. Pul . (= מאמלל), for its characteristic a4 is unchangeable. The prayer for healing is based upon the plea that his bones (Job 4:14; Isa 38:13) are affrighted. We have no German word exactly corresponding to this נבהל which (from the radical notion “to let go,” cogn.

בּלהּ) expresses a condition of outward overthrow and inward consternation, and is therefore the effect of fright which disconcerts one and of excitement that deprives one of self-control. His soul is still more shaken than his body. The affliction is therefore not a merely bodily ailment in which only a timorous man loses heart. God’s love is hidden from him.

God’s wrath seems as though it would wear him completely away. It is an affliction beyond all other afflictions. Hence he enquires: And Thou, O Jahve, how long?! Instead of אתה it is written את, which the Kerî says is to be read אתּה, while in three passages (Num 11:15; Deu 5:24; Eze 28:14) אתּ is admitted as masc .

Psa 6:4-7 (Hebrew_Bible_6:5-8) God has turned away from him, hence the prayer שׁוּבה, viz. , אלי. The tone of שׁוּבה is on the ult . , because it is assumed to be read שׁוּבה אדני. The ultima accentuation is intended to secure its distinct pronunciation to the final syllable of שׁובה, which is liable to be drowned and escape notice in connection with the coming together of the two aspirates (vid.

, on Psa 3:8). May God turn to him again, rescue (חלּץ from חלץ, which is transitive in Hebr. and Aram. , to free, expedire, exuere, Arab. chalaṣa , to be pure, prop. to be loose, free) his soul, in which his affliction has taken deep root, from this affliction, and extend to him salvation on the ground of His mercy towards sinners. He founds this cry for help upon his yearning to be able still longer to praise God, - a happy employ, the possibility of which would be cut off from him if he should die.

זכר, as frequently הזכּיר, is used of remembering one with reverence and honour; הודה (from ודה) has the dat. honoris after it. שׁאול, Psa 6:6 , ἅδης (Rev 20:13), alternates with מות. Such is the name of the grave, the yawning abyss, into which everything mortal descends (from שׁאל = שׁוּל Arab. sâl , to be loose, relaxed, to hang down, sink down: a sinking in, that which is sunken in, a depth).

The writers of the Psalms all (which is no small objection against Maccabean Psalms) know only of one single gathering-place of the dead in the depth of the earth, where they indeed live, but it is only a quasi life , because they are secluded from the light of this world and, what is the most lamentable, from the light of God’s presence. Hence the Christian can only join in the prayer of v.

6 of this Psalm and similar passages (Psa 30:10; Psa 88:11-13; Psa 115:17; Isa 38:18.) so far as he transfers the notion of hades to that of gehenna. In hell there is really no remembrance and no praising of God. David’s fear of death as something in itself unhappy, is also, according to its ultimate ground, nothing but the fear of an unhappy death. In these “pains of hell” he is wearied with (בּ as in Psa 69:4) groaning, and bedews his couch every night with a river of tears.

Just as the Hiph . השׂחה signifies to cause to swim from שׂחה to swim, so the Hiph . המסה signifies to dissolve, cause to melt, from מסה (cogn. מסס) to melt. דּמעה, in Arabic a nom. unit . a tear, is in Hebrew a flood of tears. In Psa 6:8 עיני does not signify my “appearance” (Num 11:7), but, as becomes clear from Psa 31:10; Psa 88:10, Job 17:7, “my eye;” the eye reflects the whole state of a man’s health.

The verb עשׁשׁ appears to be a denominative from עשׁ: to be moth-eaten. The signification senescere for the verb עתק is more certain. The closing words בּכל־צוררי (cf. Num 10:9 הצּר הצּרר the oppressing oppressor, from the root צר Arab. tsr , to press, squeeze, and especially to bind together, constringere, coartare , in which the writer indicates, partially at least, the cause of his grief (כּעס, in Job 18:7 כּעשׁ), are as it were the socket into which the following strophe is inserted.