7 Because the King placeth confidence in JEHOVAH, 10 Through the kindness of the most High He shall never be moved. "THY hand shall reach all Thine enemies; "THY right hand shall reach those who hate Thee. 9 "In the time of Thy wrath, "THOU shalt place them as in a furnace of fire; "JEHOVAH shall destroy them in His fury, "And the fire shall devour them. "THOU shalt cause their offspring to perish from the earth, "And their posterity from among the children of men, 11 "Because they intended evil against Thee— "They devised plans of mischief which they could not execute. 12 "Truly Thou shalt place them as a mark; "THOU shalt fit Thine arrow to the string and aim it at them. 13 Be Thou exalted, JEHOVAH, in Thy strength; So will we sing and hymn Thy might. PSALM XXII. 1 MY God, My God, why hast Thou deserted Me? Why remainest Thou far from Mine aid-from My loud cry? 2 O My God, I call by day, but Thou dost not answerBy night also, and am never silent. 3 Yet Thou art holy; THOU sittest enthroned, the praise of Israel. 4 In Thee our fathers trusted; They trusted, and Thou didst deliver them. Unto Thee they cried out, and they were rescued; In Thee they trusted, and they were not disappointed. 6 But I am a worm, not a man; The scorn of men, the despised of the people. 7 All who see Me scoff at Me; They open wide their lips, they shake their heads, (saying) 8 "His reliance hath been upon JEHOVAH, let Him rescue Him— "Let Him deliver Him, since He regardeth Him with favour." 9 Truly Thou didst take Me out of the womb; THOU gavest Me confidence when upon My mother's breasts. 10 Upon Thee was I cast from the womb; From My birth, Thou hast been My God. Be not Thou far from Me; For distress is near-for there is no helper. 12 Many bulls encompass Me; The mighty bulls of Bashan hem Me in. 13 Lions ravenous and roaring My heart is become like wax, It is melted within Me. 15 My strength is dry, like an earthen vessel, And My tongue cleaveth unto the roof of My mouth; 16 Truly dogs encompass Me; The assembly of wicked men doth encircle Me; They pierce My hands and My feet, 17 (I can count all My bones) They look, they gaze upon Me. 18 They part My garments among them, And for My vest they cast lots. 19 But, JEHOVAH, be not Thou far off, O My Strength, hasten to Mine assistance. 20 Rescue Me from the sword My life from the power of the dogs. 21 Save Me from the mouths of the lions; Answer and deliver Me from the horns of the bulls. 22 I will recount Thy name unto My brethren; now alone remains, to me. "And Satan answered the Lord, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life." Job ii. 4. See Ps. XXXV. 17. 21 Answer and deliver Me from &c.— Heb. Answer Me from &c. See Ps. vii. 5. Note 1. 22 The preceding verses have a particular reference to the indignities offered to Messiah at the close of his earthly career. In those which follow, his deliverance from death and the power of his enemies is proclaimed, and the consequent extension of God's kingdom prophetically described. 23 Ye worshippers of JEHOVAH, praise Him, All ye seed of Jacob, glorify Him; And reverence Him, all ye seed of Israel. 24 For He hath not despised nor scorned the cry of the Afflicted, Nor hath He hidden His face from Him; But when He cried unto Him, He listened. 25 My praise shall be of Thee, in the great congregation, My vows will I pay before His worshippers. 26 The poor shall eat and shall be satisfied; Those who seek Him shall praise JEHOVAH : May your hearts live for ever!" 27 All the ends of the world Shall call this to mind and turn unto JEHOVAH, All the families of the heathen Shall prostrate themselves before Thee; 28 For the kingdom shall be JEHOVAH'S, And He shall rule over the heathen. 29 All the rich of the earth shall eat and prostrate themselves, Before Him shall bend all who are descending to the dust; MYSELF also, whom He hath preserved alive. 30 Their seed shall serve Him; They shall be the Lord's, through succeeding generations 31 They shall come and proclaim His goodness To a people which shall be born, because He hath done this. PSALM XXIII. 1 JEHOVAH is my shepherd, I am in want of nothing. 2 HE causeth me to lie down in green pastures, Unto still waters doth He gently lead me. 3 HE refresheth my spirits, HE guideth me into strait paths for His name's sake. 4 Even when I am walking in the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; Because Thou art with me THY supporting staff is my comfort. THOU dost furnish a table for me before mine enemies; THOU anointest my head with oil, my cup is filled to the brim. Only goodness and mercy pursue me all the days of my life; And I dwell in the house of JEHOVAH for a length of years. PSALM XXIII. 3 my spirits See Ps. xix. 7. Note 2. 4 in the valley of the shadow of death-i. e. in regions dark and gloomy as the grave, where I am exposed to continual and extreme danger. - Thy supporting staff-Heb. Thy staff, even Thy supporting staff. 5 before mine enemies· - so that they are obliged to acknowledge the hand of God to be employed in my preservation. See Ps. Lxiv. 9. 5 Thou anointest &c. This was the accompaniment of a splendid banquet. 6 pursue me-So far from being pursued by my enemies, the goodness and mercy of God follow me through life. To understand fully the force of this expression, it will be necessary to refer, in the first place, to Psalm vii. 5, where the Psalmist prays that, if he be indeed guilty of the charge brought against him, his enemies may pursue and overtake him, thus representing this to be the greatest calamity which could befal him; and, secondly, to Psalm xviii. 37, where, exulting in the favour of his God, he rejoices in being able, through the divine assistance, to pursue and overtake his enemies. - 1 dwell &c. Released from the toils -- and hazards of war, I have abundant leisure to attend to the public ordinances of religion. |