1 Remember, Jehovah, to David
All the pains he took
2 Who swore to Jehovah,
[And] vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
3 "I will not go into the tent of my house,
I will not go up to the bed of my couch,
4 I will not give sleep to mine eyes,
To mine eyelids slumber,
5 Till I find a place for Jehovah,
A habitation for the Mighty One of Jacob."
6 Behold, we heard [of] it at Ephrathah,
We found it in the Fields of the Wood.
7 Let us come to His habitation,
Let us bow ourselves at His footstool.
8 Arise, Jehovah, to Thy rest,
Thou and the Ark of Thy strength.
9 Let Thy priests be clothed with righteousness,
And Thy favoured ones utter shrill cries of joy.
10 For the sake of David Thy servant,
Turn not away the face of Thine anointed.
11 Jehovah has sworn to David,
It is truth--He will not go back from it--
"Of the fruit of thy body will I set on thy throne.
12 If thy sons keep My covenant
And My testimonies which I will teach them,
Their sons also for ever and aye
Shall sit on thy throne."
13 For Jehovah has chosen Zion,
He has desired it for His dwelling.
14 "This is My rest for ever and aye,
Here will I abide, for I have desired it.
15 Her provision blessing I will bless,
Her poor will I satisfy with bread.
16 Her priests also will I clothe with salvation,
And her favoured ones uttering will utter shrill cries of joy.
17 There will I cause a horn to sprout for David,
I have trimmed a lamp for Mine anointed.
18 His enemies will I clothe with shame,
But upon himself shall his crown glitter."
The continuance of "the sure mercies of David" to his descendants
for his sake is first besought from God, and is then promised, for
his sake, by God Himself, speaking in the singer's spirit. The
special blessing sought for is Jehovah's dwelling in His house, which
is here contemplated as reared after long toil. Expositors differ,
as usual, in regard to the date and occasion of this psalm. Its
place among the pilgrim psalms raises a presumption in favour of a
post-exilic date, and one class of commentators refers it confidently
to the period of the rebuilding of the Temple. But the mention of the
Ark (which disappeared after the destruction of Solomon's Temple)
can be reconciled with that supposed date only by a somewhat violent
expedient. Nor is it easy to suppose that the repeated references
to David's descendants as reigning in accordance with God's promise
could have been written at a time when there was no king in Israel.
Zerubbabel has, indeed, been suggested as "the anointed" of this
psalm; but he was not king, and neither in fact nor in idea was he
anointed. And could a singer in Israel, in the post-exilic period,
have recalled the ancient promises without some passing sigh for
their apparent falsification in the present? Psalm lxxxix. is often
referred to as the "twin" of this psalm. Its wailings over the
vanished glories of the Davidic monarchy have nothing corresponding
to them here. These considerations are against a post-exilic date,
for which the chief argument is the inclusion of the psalm in the
collection of pilgrim songs.
If, on the other hand, we disregard its place in the Psalter and look
at its contents, it must be admitted that they perfectly harmonise
with the supposition that its occasion was the completion of
Solomon's Temple. The remembrance of David's long-cherished purpose
to build the House, of the many wanderings of the Ark, the glad
summons to enter the courts to worship, the Divine promises to David,
which were connected with his design of building a Temple, all fit
in with this view of the occasion of the psalm. Singularly enough,
some advocates of later dates than even the building of the second
Temple catch in the psalm tones of depression, and see indications
of its having been written when the glowing promises which it quotes
appeared to have failed. It is not in reference to "Nature" only that
"we receive but what we give." To other ears, with perhaps equal
though opposite bias, glad confidence in a promise, of which the
incipient fulfilment was being experienced, sounds in the psalm. To
some it is plain that it was written when Ark and king had been swept
away; to others it is equally clear that it presupposes the existence
of both. The latter view is to the present writer the more probable.
The psalm is not divided into regular strophes. There is, however,
a broad division into two parts, of which vv. 1-10 form the first,
the pleading of Israel with Jehovah; and vv. 11-18 the second, the
answer of Jehovah to Israel. The first part is further divided into
two: vv. 1-5 setting forth David's vow; vv. 6-10 the congregation's
glad summons to enter the completed sanctuary, and its prayer for
blessings on the worshipping nation with its priests and king. The
second part is Jehovah's renewed promises, which take up and surpass
the people's prayer. It is broken by a single verse (13), which is an
interjected utterance of Israel's.
"One remembers anything to another, when one requites him for what
he has done, or when one performs for him what one has promised him"
(Delitzsch). David's earnest longing to find a fixed place for the
Ark, his long-continued and generous amassing of treasure for the
purpose of building the Temple, are regarded as a plea with God.
The solidarity of the family, which was so vividly realised in old
times, reaches its highest expression in the thought that blessings
to David's descendants are as if given to him, sleeping in the royal
tomb. Beautifully and humbly the singer, as representing the nation,
has nothing to say of the toil of the actual builders. Not the hand
which executes, but the heart and mind which conceived and cherished
the plan, are its true author. The psalmist gives a poetic version
of David's words in 2 Sam. vii. 2. "See now, I dwell in an house of
cedar, but the Ark of God dwelleth in curtains," contains in germ
all which the psalmist here draws out of it. He, the aged king, was
almost ashamed of his own ease. "God gave him rest from his enemies,"
but he will not "give sleep to his eyes" till he finds out a place
for Jehovah. Wearied with a stormy life, he might well have left it
to others to care for the work which the prophet had told him that he
was not to be permitted to begin. But not so does a true man reason.
Rather, he will consecrate to God his leisure and his old age, and
will rejoice to originate work which he cannot hope to see completed,
and even to gather materials which happier natures and times may turn
to account. He will put his own comfort second, God's service first.
Such devotedness does make a plea with God. The psalmist's prayer goes
on that supposition, and God's answer endorses it as valid. He does
not require perfect faithfulness in His servants ere He prospers their
work with His smile. Stained offerings, in which much of the leaven of
earthly motives may be fermenting, are not therefore rejected.
Vv. 6-10 are the petitions grounded on the preceding plea, and
asking that Jehovah would dwell in the sanctuary and bless the
worshippers. Ver. 6 offers great difficulties. It seems clear,
however, that it and the next verse are to be taken as very closely
connected (note the "we" and "us" occurring in them for the only time
in the psalm). They seem to describe continuous actions, of which
the climax is entrance into the sanctuary. The first question as to
ver. 6 is what the "it" is, which is spoken of in both clauses; and
the most natural answer is--the Ark, alluded to here by anticipation,
though not mentioned till ver. 8. The irregularity is slight and
not unexampled. The interpretation of the verse mainly depends on
the meaning of the two designations of locality, "Ephrathah" and
"the fields of the Wood." Usually the former is part of the name of
Bethlehem, but the Ark in all its wanderings is never said to have
been there. Most probably Shiloh, in which the Ark did remain for a
time, is intended. But why should Shiloh be called Ephrathah? The
answer usually given, but not altogether satisfactory, is that Shiloh
lay in the territory of Ephraim, and that we have instances in which
an Ephraimite is called an "Ephrathite" (Judg. xii. 5; 1 Sam. i. 1;
1 Kings xi. 26), and therefore it may be presumed that the territory
of Ephraim was called Ephrathah. "The fields of the Wood," on the
other hand, is taken to be a free poetic variation of the name of
Kirjath-jearim (the city of the woods), where the Ark long lay, and
whence it was brought up to Jerusalem by David. In this understanding
of the verse, the two places where it remained longest are brought
together, and the meaning of the whole verse is, "We heard that it
lay long at Shiloh, but we found it in Kirjath-jearim." Delitzsch,
followed by Cheyne, takes a different view, regarding "Ephrathah" as
a name for the district in which Kirjath-jearim lay. He founds this
explanation on the genealogies in 1 Chron. ii. 19, 50, according to
which Caleb's wife, Ephrath, was the mother of Hur, the ancestor
of the Bethlehemites, and whose son Shobal was the ancestor of the
people of Kirjath-jearim; Ephrathah was thus a fitting name for the
whole district, which included both Bethlehem and Kirjath-jearim. In
this understanding of the names, the verse means, "We heard that the
Ark was at Kirjath-jearim, and there we found it."
Ver. 7 must be taken as immediately connected with the preceding.
If the same persons who found the Ark still speak, the "tabernacle"
into which they encourage each other to enter must be the tent
within which, as David said, it dwelt "in curtains"; and the joyful
utterance of an earlier age will then be quoted by the still happier
generation who, at the moment while they sing, see the sacred symbol
of the Divine Presence enshrined within the Holy Place of the Temple.
At all events, the petitions which follow are most naturally regarded
as chanted forth at that supreme moment, though it is possible that
the same feeling of the solidity of the nation in all generations,
which, as applied to the reigning family, is seen in ver. 1, may
account for the worshippers in the new Temple identifying themselves
with the earlier ones who brought up the Ark to Zion. The Church
remains the same, while its individual members change.
The first of the petitions is partly taken from the invocation in
Numb. x. 35, when "the Ark set forward"; but there it was a prayer
for guidance on the march; here, for Jehovah's continuance in His
fixed abode. It had wandered far and long. It had been planted in
Shiloh, but had deserted that sanctuary which He had once loved. It
had tarried for a while at Mizpeh and at Bethel. It had been lost
on the field of Aphek, been borne in triumph through Philistine
cities, and sent back thence in terror. It had lain for three months
in the house of Obed-edom, and for twenty years been hidden at
Kirjath-jearim. It had been set with glad acclaim in the tabernacle
provided by David, and now it stands in the Temple. There may it
abide and go no more out! Solomon and Hiram and all their workmen
may have done their best, and the result of their toils may stand
gleaming in the sunlight in its fresh beauty; but something more
is needed. Not till the Ark is in the Shrine does the Glory fill
the house. The lesson is for all ages. Our organisations and works
are incomplete without that quickening Presence. It will surely be
given if we desire it. When His Church prays, "Arise, O Lord, into
Thy rest, Thou and the Ark of Thy strength," His answer is swift and
sure, "Lo, I am with you always."
From this petition all the others flow. If "the Ark of Thy strength"
dwells with us, we too shall be strong, and have that Might for
our inspiration as well as our shield. "Let Thy priests be clothed
with righteousness." The pure vestments of the priests were symbols
of stainless character, befitting the ministers of a holy God. The
psalmist prays that the symbol may truly represent the inner reality.
He distinguishes between priests and the mass of the people; but in
the Church to-day, as indeed in the original constitution of Israel,
all are priests, and must be clothed in a righteousness which they
receive from above. They do not weave that robe, but they must "put
on" the garment which Christ gives them. Righteousness is no hazy,
theological virtue, having little to do with every-day life and
small resemblance to secular morality. To be good, gentle, and just,
self-forgetting and self-ruling, to practise the virtues which all
men call "lovely and of good report," and to consecrate them all by
reference to Him in whom they dwell united and complete, is to be
righteous; and that righteousness is the garb required of, and given
by God to, all those who seek it and minister in His Temple.
"Let Thy favoured ones utter shrill cries of joy." Surely, if they
dwell in the Temple, gladness will not fail them. True religion is
joyful. If a man has only to lift his eyes to see the Ark, what but
averted eyes should make him sad? True, there are enemies, but we are
close to the fountain of strength. True, there are sins, but we can
receive the garment of righteousness. True, there are wants, but the
sacrifice whereof "the meek shall eat and be satisfied" is at hand.
There is much unreached as yet, but there is a present God. So we may
"walk all the day in the light of His countenance," and realise the
truth of the paradox of always rejoicing, though sometimes we sorrow.
The final petition is for the anointed king, that his prayers may be
heard. To "turn away the face" is a graphic expression, drawn from
the attitude of one who refuses to listen to a suppliant. It is harsh
in the extreme to suppose that the king referred to is David himself,
though Hupfeld and others take that view. The reference to Solomon is
natural.
Such are the psalmist's petitions. The answers follow in the
remainder of the psalm, which, as already noticed, is parted in two
by an interjected verse (ver. 13), breaking the continuity of the
Divine Voice. The shape of the responses is determined by the form of
the desires, and in every case the answer is larger than the prayer.
The Divine utterance begins with a parallel between the oath of
David and that of God. David "sware to Jehovah." Yes, but "Jehovah
has sworn to David." That is grander and deeper. With this may be
connected the similar parallel in vv. 13 and 14 with ver. 5. David
had sought to "find a habitation" for Jehovah. But He Himself had
chosen His habitation long ago. He is throned there now, not because
of David's choice or Solomon's work, but because His will had settled
the place of His feet. These correspondences of expression point to
the great truth that God is His own all-sufficient reason. He is not
won to dwell with men by their importunity, but in the depths of His
unchangeable love lies the reason why He abides with us unthankful.
The promise given in ver. 12, which has respect to the closing
petition of the preceding part, is substantially that contained in
2 Sam. vii. Similar references to that fundamental promise to David
are found in Psalm lxxxix., with which this psalm is sometimes taken
to be parallel; but that psalm comes from a time when the faithful
promise seemed to have failed for evermore, and breathes a sadness
which is alien to the spirit of this song.
Ver. 13 appears to be spoken by the people. It breaks the stream of
promises. God has been speaking, but now, for a moment, He is spoken
of. His choice of Zion for His dwelling is the glad fact, which the
congregation feels so borne in on its consciousness that it breaks
forth into speech. The "For" at the beginning of the verse gives
a striking sequence, assigning, as it does, the Divine selection
of Zion for His abode, as the reason for the establishment of the
Davidic monarchy. If the throne was set up in Jerusalem, because
there God would dwell, how solemn the obligation thereby laid on
its occupant to rule as God's viceroy, and how secure each in turn
might feel, if he discharged the obligations of his office, that God
would grant to the kingdom an equal date with the duration of His own
abode! Throne and Temple are indissolubly connected.
With ver. 14 the Divine Voice resumes, and echoes the petitions of the
earlier part. The psalmist asked God to arise into His rest, and He
answers by granting the request with the added promise of perpetuity:
"Here will I dwell _for ever_." He adds a promise which had not been
asked--abundance for all, and bread to fill even the poor. The psalmist
asked that the priests might be clothed in righteousness, and the
answer promises robes of _salvation_, which is the perfecting and most
glorious issue of righteousness. The psalmist asked that God's favoured
ones might utter shrill cries of joy, and God replies with an emphatic
reduplication of the word, which implies the exuberance and continuance
of the gladness. The psalmist asked for favour to the anointed, and God
replies by expanded and magnificent promises. The "horn" is an emblem
of power. It shall continually "sprout"--_i.e._, the might of the
royal house shall continually increase. The "lamp for Mine anointed"
may be simply a metaphor for enduring prosperity and happiness, but
many expositors take it to be a symbol of the continuance of the
Davidic house, as in 1 Kings xv. 4, where, however, the word employed
is not the same as that used here, though closely connected with it.
The promise of perpetuity to the house of David does not fit into the
context as well as that of splendour and joy, and it has already been
given in ver. 12. Victory will attend the living representative of
David, his foes being clothed by Jehovah with shame--_i.e._, being
foiled in their hostile attempts--while their confusion is as a dark
background, against which the radiance of his diadem sparkles the more
brightly. These large promises are fulfilled in Jesus Christ, of the
seed of David; and the psalm is Messianic, as presenting the ideal
which it is sure shall be realised, and which is so in Him alone.
The Divine promises teach the great truth that God over-answers our
desires, and puts to shame the poverty of our petitions by the wealth
of His gifts. He is "able to do exceeding abundantly above all that
we ask or think," for the measure of His doing is none other than
"according to the Power that worketh in us," and the measure of that
Power is none other than "the working of the strength of His might,
which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set
Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places."