7 "Out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices " Rev. 4:5.

8 Lit. And strippeth the forests (i. e. of their leaves); and in his temple every thing saith, Glory.

He, Who rules the elements, gives strength and peace to

His people.

VV. 9-10.

9 Lit. The LORD sat throned at the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth throned a King for ever. Pss. 93-100.

7-9

"God's voice the flashing fires will cleave,
God's voice the desert hills upheave;

Lo, Kadesh mount her place shall leave; -
She feels the Lord:-the teeming hind
God's voice in travail-pangs shall find,
Bare the deep glade where wild deer wind.

But in his shrine entire is He

In glory; there, undimm'd and free,
He speaks out all His Majesty.

O'er the dark flood He sate of yore,
And so shall sit, Whom we adore,

A throned King for evermore.'
."-Keble.

10 Lit. The LORD giveth strength to his people; the LORD blesseth his people with the peace. "The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace "Num. "The Lord of peace himself give you peace always. by all means 2 Thess. 3:16. "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you" S. Jo. 14:27.

6:26.

PSALM 30.

A Psalm of David. Song at the Dedication of the House. The occasion of this psalm is probably the event referred to in 1 Chr. 16:43.

Praise to God, Who hears man's pleading with Him in sickness and affliction.

CHRIST IN HIS RESURRECTION.
Thanksgiving on recovery.

I Pss. 59, 60.

vv. 1-5.

5 Hy. A. & M. 405. Libanus, i. e. Mount Lebanon in the north of Palestine. 6 Sirion; the name given by the Sidonians to Mount Hermon in the N. E. part of Palestine, over against Lebanon (Deut. 3:9). Skip like a calf:-the tempest seems to shake the mountain ridges; (see Ecclus. 43:16, 17). Unicorn; see Ps. 22:21. 7 Divideth the flames of fire; " i. e. 'parts the blaze of the lightning, so as to give it the forked appearance.'-Perowne. Shaketh; lit. whirls in circles. There may be an allusion to the sand pillars which are caused by a storm in the desert. Cades, i. e. Kadesh, in the extreme south of Palestine (Num. 13:26), thus indicating the course of the storm from north to south. 9 Water-flood; i. e. the Deluge. The Heb. word only occurs elsewhere in the story of the Flood (Gen. 6-10). 10 Hy. A. & M. 31. "The poem is made more beautiful still by the contrast at the close. It begins, as has been finely said, with Gloria in excelsis, it ends with Pax in terris. As we look back over its landscape of stormy forests and dark waters, the peace with which it closes spans it like an unfading rainbow."-Bp. Alexander.

86:13 28:1

132:9,17

3 Thou, LORD, hast brought my soul out of hell: thou hast kept my life from them that go down to the pit.

4 Sing praises unto the LORD, 86:9,10 O ye saints of his and give

97:12

:

99:3 thanks unto him, for a remembrance of his holiness.

135:13

103:9

122:6

5 For his wrath endureth but 89:18 the twinkling of an eye, and in 126:6,7 his pleasure is life: heaviness may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

43

107:38- 6 And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be removed: thou, LORD, of thy goodness, hast made my hill so strong.

66:8-11

88:15

7 Thou didst turn thy face from me and I was troubled.

8 Then cried I unto thee, O LORD and gat me to my LORD right humbly.

9 What profit is there in my blood: when go down to the

pit?

6:5 10 Shall the dust give thanks 88:10-12 unto thee: or shall it declare thy

115:17

27:8

truth?

25:12 II Hear, O LORD, and have 31:10 mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper.

149:3

18:32,39 12 Thou hast turned my heaviness into joy: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness:

16:10

57:9

13 Therefore shall every good man sing of thy praise without

3 Thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. Verse 9. 4 And give thanks to the memorial of his holiness.

Lit. For in his anger is (but) a moment; in his favour a (whole) life: at eventide weeping may come in to pass the night, but with the morning (there is) a shout of joy.

"Well may the evening clothe the eyes
In clouds of tears, but soon as sun

Doth rise again, new joys shall rise."

Sir Philip Sidney.

Verse 12. "For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer" Is. 54:7, 8. "I sent you out with mourning and weeping: but God will give you to me again with joy and gladness for ever. Like as now the neighbours of Sion have seen your captivity: so shall they see shortly your salvation from our God, which shall come upon you with great glory, and brightness of the Everlasting" Baruch 4:23, 24. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy" S. Jo. 16:20. "Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" 2 Cor. 4:17.

Thoughts of the Psalmist before and during his affliction. vv. 6-13.

6 Lit. And as for me-I had said in my security,-I shall not be moved for ever. LORD, by thy favour thou hadst made my mountain to stand strong.

7 Thou didst hide thy face.

8 And unto the LORD I made supplication. Verse 2. 9 Verse 3.

10 "The grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee" 38:18,19.

Is.

12 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing. Verse 5. "David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod" 2 Sam. 6:14. "To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness" Is. 61:3.

Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow" Jer. 31:13.

13 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

3 Hell, lit. Sheol; see Ps. 6:5, n. 4 Memorial, i. e. Name; see Ex. 3:15.

13 Glory, i. e. soul.

22:5 25:1

32:8 71:1

ceasing: O my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

Rom. Easter Even, Asc.; vv. 1, 2, 11th Sun. af. Pent. Gk. 3d H. C. Sung when Festival Pilgrims entered the Temple Courts.

PSALM XXXI. In te, Domine, speravi (-accelera).

IN thee, O LORD, have I put 4:15:8 my trust: let me never be put 143:1 to confusion; deliver me in thy righteousness.

86:1

71:2

2 Bow down thine ear to me: make haste to deliver me.

3 And be thou my strong rock, 144:2 and house of defence: that thou mayest save me.

23:2,3 109:20

18:1 4 For thou art my strong rock,
and my
castle: be thou also my
guide, and lead me for thy Name's
sake.

25:14

57:7 27:1

5 Draw me out of the net that 28:9 they have laid privily for me: for 37:40 thou art my strength.

10:16 6 Into thy hands I commend 62:1,5 my spirit: for thou hast redeemed 71:20,21 me, O LORD, thou God of truth.

57:10

1:7 37:18 119:50

18:19

118:5

7 I have hated them that hold of superstitious vanities: and my trust hath been in the LORD.

8 I will be glad, and rejoice in thy mercy for, thou hast considered my trouble, and hast known my soul in adversities.

9 Thou hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy: but hast set my feet in a large room. 10 Have mercy upon me, O 69:18 LORD, for I am in trouble: and

30:11

32:3,4

PSALMS OF PENITENTIAL

SUPPLICATION

AND CONFESSION, WITH PRAYERS FOR
FORGIVENESS, AND WITH SURE
TRUST IN GOD'S MERCY..
(XXXI-XLI.)

PSALM 31.

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

The occasion of this psalm may be David's stay at Ziklag. 1 Sam. 27:5-7:

Prayer for deliverance from 'fightings without, fears within,' and the affliction of a sore disease. Trust in God's

mercy.

CHRIST IN HIS PASSION.

The Psalmist prays God to be gracious in his trouble, and declares his trust in Him. vv. 1-9.

I Let me never be ashamed.

Verse 7.

4 For thou art my rock and my fortress. Lit. And for thy Name's sake thou wilt lead me and guide me.

5 Lit. Thou wilt bring me forth out of the net; for thou art my fortress.

6 The last words of Christ on the Cross,-" Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit" S. Lu. 23:46. "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" Acts 7:59. "Let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator " I S. Pet. 4:19. "The LORD is the God of truth, he is the living God, and an everlasting king" Jer. 10:10.

Comp. Ps. 130. 7 I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the LORD. Verse 1. They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities" Deut. 32:21. "Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities? Jer. 8;19. They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy" Jonah 2:8.

8 Lit. Let me exult and rejoice in thy mercy. "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" S. Jo. 10:27. "The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him" Nah. 1:7.

The Psalmist's sufferings; prayer for the light of God's countenance, and the confounding of enemies. vv. 10-20. 10 Mine eye is consumed with grief. Verse 18.

Ps. XXXI. 3 Defence, lit. fortresses. 6 "It is an old tradition that our Lord repeated all the Psalms from the 22d through this verse during the three hours of his extreme sufferings "-Blunt. 9 Large room; i. e. a spacious place.