PSALM CXX.

Complaints concerning enemies, especially deceivers and calumniators. From verse fifth, it seems that the author of it was living in exile; the words Mesech and Kedar, being used figuratively to denote a barbarous heathen country, as we should speak of living amongst the Hottentots.

A psalm of steps.

1

In my distress I call upon Jehovah,
And he answereth me.

2 O Lord deliver me from lying lips, From the deceitful tongue!

3 What profit to thee, O slanderer,

Or what advantage is thy false tongue? 4 It is like the sharp arrows of the mighty; Like coals of the juniper.

5 Alas for me, that I sojourn in Mesech, That I dwell in the tents of Kedar!

6 Too long have I dwelt

With them, that hate peace.

7 I am for peace; yet when I speak for it, They are for war.

PSALM CXXI.

Confidence of safety under the protection of God. Probably composed during the captivity, or on the return from it. See Ps. xiv. 7.

A psalm of steps.

1 I LIFT up mine eyes to the hills;

Whence cometh my help?

2 My help cometh from Jehovah, Who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not suffer thy foot to stumble;

Thy guardian doth not slumber.

4 Behold! the guardian of Israel Doth neither slumber nor sleep.

5 Jehovah is thy guardian;

Jehovah is thy shade at thy right hand. 6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, Nor the moon by night.

7 Jehovah will defend thee from all evil;

He will preserve thy life.

8 Jehovah will defend thee, when thou goest out, and when thou comest in,

Now and for ever!

1

PSALM CXXII.

Hymn of the Israelites on their journey to the festivals in Jerusalem.

A psalm of steps. By David.

I AM glad when they say to me,

Let us go up to the house of Jehovah !

2 Soon shall our feet stand,

Within thy gates, O Jerusalem!

3 Jerusalem, the rebuilt city!

The city closely compacted!

4 Thither the tribes go up,

The tribes of the Lord, according to the law

Israel,

To praise the name of Jehovah.

5 There stand the thrones of judgment; The thrones of the house of David.

6 Pray ye for the peace of Jerusalem! May they prosper, that love thee!

7 Peace be within thy walls,

And prosperity within thy palaces!

8 For my brethren and companions' sake, will I say, Peace be within thee !

9 For the sake of the house of Jehovah,

Will I wish thee prosperity!

PSALM CXXIII.

Prayer for the deliverance of the Jewish nation from oppression.

O thou that reignest in the heavens !

2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of

their masters,

And as the eyes of a maiden to the hand of her mistress,

So do our eyes look to Jehovah, our God,

Until he have pity upon us.

3 Have pity upon us, O Lord, have pity upon us, For we are overwhelmed with contempt!

4 We sink under the scorn of the insolent, And the contempt of the proud.

PSALM CXXIV.

Thanksgiving for deliverance from national calamity.

A psalm of steps. By David.

1 IF the Lord had not been for us,
Now may Israel say,

2 If the Lord had not been for us,
When men rose up against us,
3 Then had they swallowed us up alive,
When their wrath burned against us ;
4 Then the waters had overwhelmed us;

The torrents had gone over our heads;
5 The proud waters had gone over our heads.
6 Blessed be the Lord,

Who hath not given us a prey to their jaws !

7 We have escaped, like a bird from the snare of the fowler;

The snare is broken, and we have escaped.

8 Our help is with Jehovah,

Who made heaven and earth.

PSALM CXXV.

Trust in Jehovah, as the protector of Israel. This psalm may refer to the condition of the nation after the return from captivity, when they were troubled by the Samaritans. See Nehem. ch. iv.

1

A psalm of steps.

THEY, who trust in the Lord, shall be as mount
Zion,

Which cannot be moved; which standeth for ever.

2 As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, So Jehovah is round about his people,

Now and for ever!

3 For the sceptre of the wicked shall not remain upon the portion of the righteous,

Lest the righteous put forth their hands to iniquity.

4 Do good, O Lord, to the good;

To them that are upright in heart!

5 But such as turn aside to their crooked ways, May Jehovah destroy them with the evil-doers! Peace be to Israel!

PSALM CXXVI.

Prayer of those, who had returned from captivity, for the restoration of the exiles remaining at Babylon.

1

A psalm of steps.

WHEN Jehovah brought back the captives of Zion, We were like them that dream.

2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter,

And our tongue with singing;

Then said they among the nations,

Jehovah hath done great things for them!

3 Jehovah hath done great things for us, For which we are glad.

4

Bring back, O Lord, the rest of our captives,
Like streams in a dry land!

5 They, who sow in tears,

Shall reap in joy.