聖書注解書

この詩篇は他のいかなるものとも異なり、それ自体で一つの詩篇である。他のすべてにまさり、この星座の中で最も輝いている。どの詩篇よりもはるかに長く、どれよりも二倍以上長い。キリストが非難されるのは長い祈りをすること自体ではなく、それを口実にすることである。それは、長い祈り自体は良いことであり、称賛に値することを示唆している。わたしには、これがダビデの敬虔で熱心な短い祈りの集大成であるように思われる。すなわち、神に向かって上げられた彼の短く突発的な魂の吐息と高揚であり、彼はこれらを生じるに任せて書き留め、晩年に近づいてから、散在していた日記からこれらを集め、それに多くの似たことばを加え、この詩篇にまとめたのである。この中では節と節の間に首尾一貫したつながりがほとんどない。しかしソロモンの箴言のように、これは金の指輪の箱であり、金の鎖ではない。われわれは詩人の例によって、このような敬虔な短い祈りに慣れることを学ぶことができるだけでなく、これを用いなければならない。それは神との絶え間ない交わりを保ち、宗教のより厳粛な務めのために心を整えておくための優れた手段である。またわれわれは詩人のことばを用いて、敬虔な感情を刺激し、またこれを表現しなければならない。この詩篇についてある人々が言ったことは真である。「これを思慮深く読む者は、温められるか、恥じ入るかのいずれかであろう」と。その構成は独特で非常に精密である。二十二の部分に分かれ、ヘブル語のアルファベットの文字の数に応じている。各部分は八節から成り、第一の部分のすべての節はアレフで始まり、第二の部分のすべての節はベトで始まる。以下同様に、詩篇全体を通していかなる瑕疵もなく続く。ティロットソン大主教は言う。これには、われわれが今の距離では容易に理解できないほど多くの詩的技巧と韻律があるようである、と。ある人々はこれを聖徒のアルファベットと呼んだ。われわれが自分のアルファベットの文字と同じくらい、A・B・Cのように記憶に容易に思い出せることが願われる。おそらく筆者自身、この方法を観察することが自分にとって役立つと感じたのであろう。というのは、各部分の定員を満たすために、彼は思想を探し求めざるを得なかったからである。そして彼が始めるべき文字は、ある語に彼を導き、その語が良い文を思いつかせたかもしれない。そしてわれわれの心という不毛な土壌において良いものを何か引き出すには、これらはすべてまだ少なすぎるほどであった。いずれにせよ、これは学ぶ者にとって役立つものであった。すなわち、暗記し、機会あるごとに思い出すのを助けるものであった。文字によって最初の語が得られ、それが節全体を思い出させた。このように若い人々はより容易にこれを暗唱し、老年に至るまでより良く保持したであろう。もしアクロスティックが今は全く流行遅れであるという理由で、これを幼稚で些末なものとして非難する者があれば、彼らに知らせよ。王なる詩人は彼らの非難を意に介しない。彼は幼子の教師であり、もしこの方法が彼らにとって有益であるなら、彼は容易にこれに屈することができるのである。もしこれが卑しいことであるなら、彼はさらに卑しい者となろう。

二、この詩篇の一般的な趣旨と目的は、律法を大きくし、これに栄光を与えることである。すなわち、神の啓示の卓越性と有用性を示し、詩人自らの例によって、これをわれわれの慰めのためだけでなく、われわれ自身を治めるために推奨することである。詩人はこれの益と、これによって自分に与えられた良い印象についての経験を語り、これらのゆえに神を賛美し、初めから終わりまで、自らの義務の道において彼を導き、活気づけてくださるよう神の恵みの継続を切に祈る。この詩篇において神の啓示を指すのに用いられている異なる十の語があり、これらは同義語である。各々は神の啓示の全領域（われわれが神から期待されることと、われわれが神から期待できることの両方）と、これに基づきこれに導かれる宗教の体系を表現する。聖書に含まれ、そこから引き出される事柄は、ここで次のように呼ばれている。一、神の律法。これらが主権者である神によって制定されたものであるから。二、神の道。これらが神の摂理とわれわれの従順の両方の規則であるから。三、神のあかし。これらが世界に対して厳粛に宣言され、反論の余地なく証明されたものであるから。四、神の戒め。権威をもって与えられ、（この語が示すように）託としてわれわれに預けられたものであるから。五、神の定め。われわれに処方され、自由に任されていないものであるから。六、神のことば、あるいは言。これが神の思いの宣言であり、本質的で永遠のことばであるキリストがその中のすべてであるから。七、神のさばき。無限の知恵において形作られ、これによってわれわれはさばき、またさばかれるものであるから。八、神の義。これがすべて聖く、正しく、良く、義の規則と標準であるから。九、神の律例。これらが固定され、決定され、永遠の義務を負うものであるから。十、神の真実、あるいは誠実。神の律法が建てられている原則が永遠の真理であるから。そしてわたしは、この長い詩篇全体の中で、これら十の語のいずれかを含まない節は一つ（詩119:122）しかないと思う。ただ三、四か所では、これらは神の摂理やダビデの行いについて用いられている（詩119:75,84,121のように）。また詩119:132ではこれらは神の御名と呼ばれている。ダビデが神のことばに対して抱いていた大いなる尊敬と愛情は、われわれが持っているものと比べて彼がいかにわずかしか持っていなかったかを考えると、さらに称賛に値する。書き物としてはモーセの最初の数巻以上には持っていなかったであろう。それらはこの日の夜明けにすぎなかった。このことは、神の啓示の十分な啓示を享受しながら、それに対してこれほど冷ややかなわれわれを恥じさせる。この詩篇を歌うにあたり、聖別された魂のすべての敬虔な感情のための務めがある。その内容はこれほど豊かで、これほど多様である。われわれはここで、支配者であり大いなる恵み主としての神に栄光を帰すべきことを見出し、自らと互いに教え諭すべきこと（宗教生活に関する多くの教訓がここに見出されるから）を見出し、自らと互いに慰め励ますべきことを見出す。このような生活を送った者の甘い経験がこれほど多くあるからである。ここにはすべてのキリスト者の境遇に合う何かがある。苦しんでいる者がいるか。喜んでいる者がいるか。それぞれはここで自分にふさわしいものを見出すであろう。そして、ざっと目を通す者には同じ事の退屈な繰り返しに思えるかもしれないが、これを深く黙想するなら、ほとんどすべての節に新しい思想と非常に生き生きとした何かがあることを見出すであろう。そしてこれは、ダビデの他の多くの詩篇と同様に、われわれがひとりで、また他の者たちが加わるとき、祈りにおいて格言的であることを教える。なぜなら普通、特に弱いキリスト者の感情は、長く苦心して作られた文章よりも、意味が小さな範囲に含まれている短い表現によって、より高められ、保たれるからである。

これはアルファベット詩篇であり、詩篇集の中でこの種のものとしては最も長く、最も完全なものである。この作品の特異性はここにある。すなわち、この詩篇の最初の八節はヘブル語アルファベットの最初の文字——Aleph (א ')——で始まり、次の八節は第二の文字——Beth (ב b)——で始まり、以下同様に、アルファベットの二十二文字全体を通じて及ぶのである。これらの部分は、私たちの普通の訳では、それぞれの部分を示すヘブル文字の名前——アレフ、ベス、ギメル、ダレテなど——によって指定されている。

この詩篇の一般的な主題は、いのちの規範として、魂を聖なるものとするものとして、試みの中での支えとして、また、それを思い巡らすことにおいて、またそれに従うことにおいて、心に幸福を与えるものとして考えられた神の律法である。この詩篇は、その律法の卓越性と、それに従う幸いな効果を、あらゆる多様な形で、あらゆる多様な表現をもって示すことを意図されたものと思われる。百七十六節に及ぶその大きな長さの中には、これを説明する十分な機会があった。この詩篇の作者の目的は、これについてどれほど多くのことが語れるかを確かめ、語られ得るすべてを語ることであったように思われる。単一の主題がこれほどまでに、これほどの多様性をもって、しかも繰り返しとみなされ得るものがこれほど少なく追究され得たことは注目に値する。この詩篇の中には、それ自体の中においても、その関連においても、主題に与えられた新しい局面か、どこにも表されていない新しい思考の色合いが見出せないほど正確に類似した二節は、おそらく一組もないからである。この詩篇のこの意図は、また、神の律法——神のあかし——神の定め——への言及はこれほど絶え間ないので、マソラによれば、「この詩篇の中に、神のことばの何らかの名称や描写を含まない節は一つしかない」のである。

この詩篇は、作者の個人的な経験の記録、あるいはこの主題についての彼の瞑想の結果であるように思われる。多くの人が考えてきたように語っているのはユダヤの民でも教会でもなく、明らかに一個人——年輪を重ねた人物である可能性も低くない——が、いのちの様々な状況における神の律法、すなわち神のことばの影響についての、また、それが彼自身にとって何であると見出したかについての、自分の経験の結果を語っているのである。同時に、そのことばは他の者たちの経験をも表し得るようなものであり、公の礼拝において用いられ得るようなものである。

しかし、このように長い詩篇が、多くの短い詩篇がそうであったように、公の礼拝において普通に用いられたとは考えられない。それは、宗教の最も重要な主題の一つである神のことばについての、最も尊く価値ある真理の大きな宝庫である。また、アルファベットによる配列からしてありそうに思われるように、それが若い人たちによって暗記されることを意図されたのかもしれない。そうすれば、彼らの心は早くから、いのちの旅路における導き手となる価値ある教訓で満たされることになるからである。若者がこの詩篇を暗記することによって得るものより良い宝を心に蓄えることはできないであろう。

この詩篇がダビデの作品であるか、あるいはもっと後の著者の作品であるかは確定できない。多くの人々がそれをダビデに帰してきた。また、彼がそれを、ペリシテ人の中での亡命時代に書いた（1 Samuel 27:1-12）、あるいは彼が若く、まだ政権の権威を得ていなかったときに書いたと考えられてきた。この後者の意見は——ローゼンミュラー（Rosenmuller）は正しく導き出されたと考えるが——Psalm 119:9、Psalm 119:23、Psalm 119:46、Psalm 119:141、Psalm 119:161 から導き出されたものである。グルリット（Gurlitt）は、その作者が、アッスリヤ人によって捕虜とされたある若者であり、その捕囚の中で、自分の宗教への愛着を表すものとしてこの詩篇を作ったと考えた。すなわち、国と家を離れ、誘惑に囲まれていても、脅しや賄賂によっては父祖たちの宗教から離れさせられなかった若者、その宗教を捨てて偶像礼拝の習慣に従うようにと彼に差し出され得たすべての誘いと甘言を退けた若者、あるいは感覚的な満足へのあらゆる誘惑に抵抗した若者である。

この考えは、Psalm 119:22-23、Psalm 119:25、Psalm 119:28-29、Psalm 119:36、Psalm 119:39、Psalm 119:42-43、Psalm 119:46、Psalm 119:50-51、Psalm 119:53、Psalm 119:56、Psalm 119:67、Psalm 119:72、Psalm 119:74、Psalm 119:78、Psalm 119:83 から導き出されたものである。このように理解すれば、それはヨセフやダニエルのような若いヘブル人の状態に適用可能であり、そのような若い人たちが囲まれていた誘惑の中で抱くであろう感情と、彼らが育てられた宗教の原則への愛着の堅固さを表すものであろう。この考えは美しいものであり、例示のために適切に用いられ得るが、この詩篇がそのような状況の下で作られたという確かな証拠はない。他の人々は、この詩篇が、アレクサンダー大王の時代の大祭司であるヤドア（Nehemiah 12:22）によって——当時ユダヤに存在していた混乱の中で、またサマリヤ人の反対の中で——書かれたと考えた。そしてその目的は、ユダヤ教における彼自身の堅固さを示すこと、また神のことばの権威と卓越性、律法の権威を示すことによって、ヘブル人を同じ堅固さへと励ますことであったとする。ルーディンガー（Rudinger）は、それがアンティオコスの下での迫害の時代——マカベアの時代——に、同じ目的で作られたと考える。これらはすべて単なる推測であり、この詩篇が作られた機会を確定し、あるいはその作者が誰であったかを決定することは今や不可能である。また、必要でもない。この詩篇は、あらゆる時代の神の民にこれほど適用可能であり、試みの中で心を強めるのにこれほど適しており、魂を導き、慰め、支えるのにこれほど適合しており、神の律法の影響と価値に関してこれほど真実であるので、それがいつ作られたか、誰がその作者であったかを知る必要はない。それが聖霊の導きの下で作られ、世界のあらゆる時代において計り知れない価値を持つ真理の貯蔵所であることを知れば十分なのである。

この詩篇には主題の分類や配列はなく、その各節の心情の間にはほとんど、あるいは全く関連がない。その多くは格言的な性質を持つか、箴言の形で提示されている。また、思考の順序は、各節を始めるのに特定の文字を選ぶ必要と、各文字の下に八節が続くことによって示唆されたものと思われる。神のことば、あるいは神の律法という一般的な標題の下で、この詩篇を特定の見出し——例えば次のようなもの——の下に配列することが可能かもしれない。

I. 若いときに

II. 試みの中で

III. 義務において

IV. 瞑想において

V. 夜に

VI. 公の場で

VII. 個人的な場で

VIII. 繁栄の中で

IX. 逆境の中で、等々。

しかし、この詩篇の解説においては、この詩篇の構造を変えるこのような配列や分類は妥当性が疑わしいものであり得、霊感の御霊が良しと観られた順序に従うのが正しいであろう。

The various excellencies and important uses of the law or revelation of God.

This is another of the alphabetical or acrostic Psalms. It is divided into twenty-two parts, answering to the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Every part is divided into eight verses; and each verse begins with that letter of the alphabet which forms the title of the part, e.g.: The eight first verses have א aleph prefixed, the second eight ב beth, each of the eight verses beginning with that letter; and so of the rest. All connection, as might be naturally expected, is sacrificed to this artificial and methodical arrangement.

It is not easy to give any general Analysis of this Psalm; it is enough to say that it treats in general on the privileges and happiness of those who observe the law of the Lord. That law is exhibited by various names and epithets tending to show its various excellences. Earnest prayers are offered to God for wisdom to understand it, and for grace to observe it faithfully. These particulars may be collected from the whole composition, and appear less or more in every part.

The words which express that revelation which God had then given to men, or some particular characteristic of it, are generally reckoned to be the ten following:

1Testimonies;

2Commandments,

3Precepts;

4. Word;

5. Law;

6. Ways;

7. Truth;

8. Judgments;

9. Righteousness;

10. Statutes.

To these some add the following:

1Faithfulness,

2Judgment;

3. Name; but these are not used in the sense of the other ten words.

I believe it is almost universally asserted that in every verse of this Psalm one or other of those ten words is used, except in Psalm 119:122; but on a closer inspection we shall find that none of them is used in the above sense in Psalm 119:84 (note), Psalm 119:90 (note), Psalm 119:121 (note), Psalm 119:122 (note), Psalm 119:132 (note).

To save myself unnecessary repetition, and the reader time and trouble, I shall here, once for all, explain the above words, which the reader will do well to keep in remembrance.

I. The Law, תורה Torah, from ירה yarah, to direct, guide, teach, make straight, or even, point forward; because it gutdes, directs, and instructs in the way of righteousness; makes our path straight, shows what is even and right, and points us onward to peace, truth, and happiness. It is even our school master to bring us to Christ, that we may be justified through faith; and by it is the knowledge of sin.

II. Statutes, חקים Chukkim, from חק chak, to mark, trace out, describe, and ordain; because they mark out our way describe the line of conduct we are to pursue and order or ordain what we are to observe.

III. Precepts, פקודים Pikkudim, from פקד pakad, to take notice or care of a thing, to attend, have respect to, to appoint, to visit; because they take notice of our way, have respect to the whole of our life and conversation, superintend, overlook, and visit us in all the concerns and duties of life.

IV. Commandments, מצות Mitsvoth, from צוה tassah to command, order, ordain; because they show us what we should do, and what we should leave undone, and exact our obedience.

V. Testimonies, עדות Edoth, from עד ad, denoting beyond, farther, all along, to bear witness, or testimony. The rites and ceremonies of the law; because they point out matters beyond themselves, being types and representations of the good things that were to come.

VI. Judgments, משפטים Mishpatim, from שפט shaphat, to judge, determine, regulate, order, and discern, because they judge concerning our words and works; show the roses by which they should be regulated; and cause us to discern what is right and wrong, and decide accordingly.

VII. Truth, אמונה Emunah, from אמן aman, to make steady, constant, to settle, trust, believe. The law that is established steady, confirmed, and ordered in all things, and sure; which should be believed on the authority of God, and trusted to as an infallible testimony from Him who cannot lie nor deceive.

VIII. Word, דבר dabar, from the same root, to discourse, utter one's sentiments, speak consecutively and intelligibly; in which it appears to differ from מלל malal, to utter articulate sounds. Any prophecy or immediate communication from heaven, as well as the whole body of Divine revelation, is emphatically called דבר יהוה debar Yehovah, the word of Jehovah. On the same ground we call the whole Old and New Testament The Word of the Lord, as we term the volume in which they are contained The Bible-The Book. In his revelation God speaks to man; shows him, in a clear, concise, intelligible, and rational way, his interest, his duty, his privileges; and, in a word, the reasonable service that he requires of him.

IX. Way, דרך Debech, from the same root, to proceed, go on, walk, tread. The way in which God goes in order to instruct and save man; the way in which man must tread in order to be safe, holy, and happy. God's manner of acting or proceeding in providence and grace; and the way that man should take in order to answer the end of his creation and redemption.

X. Righteousness, צדקה Tsedakah from צדק tsadak, to do justice, to give full weight. That which teaches a man to give to all their due; to give God his due, Man his due, and Himself his due; for every man has duties to God, his neighbor, and himself, to perform. This word is applied to God's judgments, testimonies, and commandments; they are all righteous, give to all their due, and require what is due from every one.

The three words, which some add here, are,

The first is Faithfulness, אמונה Emunah: but see this under No. VII., nor does it appear in Psalm 119:90, where it occurs, to be used as a characteristic of God's law, but rather his exact fulfillment of his promises to man.

The second is Judgment, משפט mishpat. See this under No. VI.: it occurs in Psalm 119:84 and Psalm 119:121 : "When wilt thou execute judgment," etc.; but is not used in those places as one of the ten words.

The third is Name, שם shem, see Psalm 119:132 : but this is no characteristic of God's law; it refers here simply to himself. Those that love thy Name is the same as those that love Thee. Bishop Nicholson inserts promises among the ten words: but this occurs no where in the Psalm.

We might, and with much more propriety, add a fourth, אמרה Imrah, from אמר amar, to branch out, spread, or diffuse itself, as the branches of a tree, and which is often used for a word spoken, a speech. This often occurs in the Psalm: and we regularly translate it word, and put no difference or distinction between it and דבר dabar, No. VIII.: but it is not exactly the sane; דבר dabar may apply more properly to history, relation, description and such like; while, אמרתך imrathecha, thy word, may mean an immediate oracle, delivered solemnly from God to his prophet for the instruction of men. But the two words appear often indifferently used; and it would not be easy to ascertain the different shades of meaning between these two roots.

Having thus far introduced the Psalm to the reader's attention, I should probably speak at large of the elegance of its composition, and the importance and utility of its matter. Like all other portions of Divine revelation, it is elegant, important, and useful; and while I admire the fecundity of the psalmist's genius, the unabating flow of his poetic vein, his numerous synonyms, and his copia verborum, by which he is enabled to expand, diversify, and illustrate the same idea; presenting it to his reader in all possible points of view, so as to render it pleasing, instructive, and impressive; I cannot rob the rest of the book of its just praise by setting this, as many have done, above all the pieces it contains. It is by far the largest, the most artificial, and most diversified; yet, in proportion to its length, it contains the fewest ideas of any Psalm in the Book.

Several of the ancients, particularly the Greek fathers, have considered it as an abridgement of David's life; in which he expresses all the states through which he had passed; the trials, persecutions, succours, and encouragements he had received. The Latin fathers perceive in it all the morality of the Gospel, and rules for a man's conduct in every situation of life. Cassiodorus asserts that it contains the sentiments of the prophets, apostles, martyrs, and all the saints. In the introduction to the Book of Psalms I have conjectured that many of them were composed from notes taken at different times, and in widely different circumstances; hence the different states described in the same Psalm, which could not have been at one and the same time the experience of the same person. It is most likely that this Psalm was composed in this way, and this, as well as its acrostical arrangement, will account for its general want of connection.

Though the most judicious interpreters assign it to the times of the Babylonish captivity; yet there are so many things in it descriptive of David's state, experience, and affairs, that I am led to think it might have come from his pen; or if composed at or under the captivity, was formed out of his notes and memoranda.

I shall now make short remarks on the principal subjects in each part; and, at the end of each, endeavor by the Analysts to show the connection which the eight verses of each have among themselves, and the use which the reader should make of them. In all the Versions except the Chaldee this Psalm is numbered 118.

INTRODUCTION TO Psalm 119

This psalm is generally thought to be written by David, but when is uncertain; very probably towards the decline of life; and, as some think, for the sake or his son Solomon. It seems to be a collection of observations on the word of God and its precepts, the usefulness and excellency of it, he had made in the course of his life; interspersed with various petitions for the grace of God, to enable him to observe it. The psalm is a very extraordinary one; partly on account of the unusual length of it, it being more than double the length of the longest psalm in the whole book; and partly on account of its curious composition. It consists of twenty two parts, according to the number of the letters in the Hebrew alphabet; the names of which letters stand between each part; and every part consists of eight verses, all of which begin with the same letter: thus, for instance, the first eight verses begin with the letter "aleph", and the second eight verses begin with the letter "beth", and so on throughout; hence the Masorah calls this psalm the Great Alphabet. This the psalmist did, perhaps to excite attention to what he said, and also to help the memory. And it is observable that there are very few verses in the whole, not more than one or two, but what has something in it concerning the word of God, and its precepts and ordinances; there are nine or ten different words used relative to it, which signify much one and the same thing; as laws, statutes, judgments, testimonies, &c. Luther (m) observes, that neither Cicero, nor Virgil, nor Demosthenes, are to be compared with David for eloquence, as we see in the hundred nineteenth Psalm, where he divideth one sense and meaning into twenty two sorts. And it may also be remarked, that there is nothing in it concerning the tabernacle worship, or the rites and ceremonies of the legal dispensation; so that it seems to be calculated for, and is suited to, the word of God, and the ordinances of it, as we now have them in their full perfection: and the design of the whole is to show the fervent affection the psalmist had for the word of God, and to stir up the same in others.

(m) Mensal. Colloqu. c. 32. p. 365.

CXIX.

An acrostic must wear an artificial form, and one carried out on the elaborate plan set himself by this author could not fail to sacrifice logical sequence to the prescribed form. Why the number eight was selected for each group of verses, or why, when the author succeeded, in all but two of the 176 verses, in introducing some one synonym for the law, he failed in two, Psalm 119:122; Psalm 119:132, we must leave to unguided conjecture. The repetition of the name Jehovah, occurring exactly twenty-two times, could hardly have been without intention, but in the change rung on the terms that denote the Law there is no evidence of design. That the aphorisms in which the praise of the Law is thus untiringly set forth were not collected and arranged as a mere mnemonic book of devotion appears from the under-current of feeling which runs through the psalm, binding the whole together. At the same time, it is quite inconsistent with the ordinary history of literary work to suppose that such a mechanical composition could owe its origin to the excitement of any one prominent occurrence; rather it is the after reflection of one, or more likely of many, minds on a long course of events belonging to the past, but preserved in memory, reflections arranged in such a way as not only to recall experiences of past days, but to supply religious support under similar trials. The same mode of viewing the psalm finds room for the apparent inconsistency which makes one author assign it to a young man (Psalm 119:9; Psalm 119:99-100), another to a man of mature if not advanced age (Psalm 119:33; Psalm 119:52; Psalm 119:96, &c). And if there is a monotony and sameness in the ever-recurring phrases, which under slightly different expressions state the same fact, the importance of that fact, not only to a Jew, but to a Christian also, cannot be exaggerated. “It is strange,” writes Mr. Ruskin, “that of all the pieces of the Bible which my mother taught me, that which cost me most to learn, and which was to my child’s mind chiefly repulsive, the 119th psalm, has now become of all most precious to me in its overflowing and glorious passion of love for the law of God.”

This great “Psalm of the Law” is based upon the prophetic (Ezra 9:11) presentation of the Law in the Book of Deuteronomy, with the spirit and language of which its author’s mind was saturated. It represents the religious ideas of Deuteronomy developed in the communion of a devout soul with God. It is the fruit of that diligent study of the Law which is enjoined in Deuteronomy 6:1-9, a beginning of the fulfilment of the promise of an inward and spiritual knowledge of it which is proclaimed by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:33 ff.). The Psalmist is one whose earnest desire and stedfast purpose it is to make God’s law the governing principle of his conduct, to surrender all self-willed thoughts and aims, to subordinate his whole life to the supremely perfect Will of God, with unquestioning faith in His all-embracing Providence and unfailing love.

The ‘Law of God,’ which the Psalmist describes in its manifold aspects as His law, word, promise, commandments, statutes, judgements, precepts, testimonies, ways, is not the law in the narrower sense of the Mosaic legislation or the Pentateuch. The Hebrew word tôrâh has a wider range of meaning, and here, as in Psalms 1, 19, it must be understood to mean all Divine revelation as the guide of life. This it is which kindles the Psalmist’s enthusiasm and demands his allegiance. It is no rigid code of commands and prohibitions, but a body of teaching, the full meaning of which can only be realised gradually and by the help of Divine instruction. It has been said that the Psalmist’s devotion to the Law contains the germ of Pharisaic legalism, but it may be questioned whether the observation is just. Nowhere does the Psalmist allow law to interfere between him and God; never is a formal observance of external rules substituted for the inward devotion of the heart. If sometimes his professions of obedience seem to savour of self-righteousness, his prayers for grace fully recognise that strength to obey must come from God. The Psalm is an acknowledgement of the blessing of a revelation, of the strength which the law gives to Israel in the midst of surrounding heathenism, and to the faithful Israelite in the presence of a prevailing laxity of faith and morals. In an age when the voice of prophecy was rarely heard, or perhaps was altogether silent, it begins to draw strength from meditation on the revelation made to past generations. It points no doubt towards the age of the Scribes, but it represents the best spirit of that age[78]. It is remarkable that a Psalm, emanating from the period in which the ritual law was codified and the Temple became the centre of Israel’s religion, should contain no reference whatever to ceremonial or sacrifice. Doubtless the Psalmist would have included the ceremonial law as a part of God’s commandments, but evidently he does not regard it as the principal part of them. The whole Psalm is animated by a profound inwardness and spirituality, as far removed as possible from the superstitious literalism of a later age. It shews no tendency to substitute mechanical observance of rules for the living application of principles. Such obedience, if it falls short of the full liberty of the Gospel, is at least a step towards it.

[78] Cp. Oehler’s O.T. Theology, §§ 84, 201.

The close personal relation of the Psalmist to God is one of the most striking features of the Psalms in general, and in few Psalms is it more marked than in this. In every verse but one (115) or at most two (but on 128 see note) after the first three introductory verses God is addressed; in all but some fourteen verses the Psalmist addresses God in the first person, or, which is the same thing, as His servant.

The Psalmist has arranged his meditations in an elaborate alphabetical form, adopted partly perhaps as an aid to memory. The Psalm consists of 22 stanzas, according to the number of the letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Each of the 8 verses in a stanza begins with the same letter, and the letters are taken in their regular order. The arrangement of Lamentations 3 presents the nearest parallel, but there the stanzas consist of three verses only. (For other alphabetical Psalms see Introd. p. lxiv.) This artificiality of structure seems to have hindered many commentators from appreciating the variety of the contents of the Psalm, and many have denied that any real connexion or progress of thought is to be found in it. In a sense this may be true: the verses are not so much linked together by logical connexion as united by their direction to a common centre, but each stanza has, as a rule, some leading thought, which gives it a distinctive character. Those who by long devotional use have become intimately familiar with the Psalm have found a significant variety in the apparent monotony of its language. For them it is ‘the Psalm of the Saints’; ‘the Alphabet of Divine Love’; ‘the Christian’s golden ABC of the praise, love, power and use of the Word of God.’ St Augustine deferred the exposition of it until he had finished the rest of the Psalter, and finally approached it with reluctance and diffidence:—“non tam propter eius notissimam longitudinem quam propter eius profunditatem paucis cognoscibilem … quanto enim videtur apertior, tanto mihi profundior videri solet” (Prooemium in Psalms 118). The cxix th Psalm, writes Dr Liddon, represents in the highest degree “the paradox of seeming simplicity overlying fathomless depth. It conveys at first an impression of tautology … it seems to reiterate with little attempt at variety the same aspirations, assurances, prayers, resolutions”; but a close and sympathetic study shews it to be “infinitely varied in its expressions, yet incessantly one in its direction; its variations are so delicate as to be almost imperceptible, its unity so emphatic as to be inexorably stamped upon its every line” (The Priest in his Inner Life, p. 46).

“The 119th Psalm,” says Mr Ruskin, quoted by Archbp. Alexander, Witness of the Psalms, p. 302, “has become of all the most precious to me in its overflowing and glorious passion of love for the law of God.”

Who the author of the Psalm was it is idle to speculate, but we may gather from it some idea of the circumstances among which he lived. He was sorely tried, but in his trials he recognised God’s loving discipline for his good (Psalm 119:50; Psalm 119:67; Psalm 119:71; Psalm 119:75; Psalm 119:107; Psalm 119:153). He had to suffer contempt (22, 39, 42) and even ill-treatment (121, 134) for his adherence to the law. The authorities of the community despised and persecuted him (23, 161); men of position and power, whom he designates as ‘the proud’ or ‘the wicked,’ mocked him, calumniated him, endeavoured to oppress and injure him (51, 61, 69, 78, 84, 85, 86, 95, 122, 150, 157). He was even in danger of his life (87, 109). His persecutors were not heathen, but faithless Israelites, for he describes them as forsaking God’s law (53), wandering from His commandments (21), forgetting His words (139). They were selfish, self-satisfied men of the world, incapable of appreciating true religion (70). Their indifference to the law sometimes aroused his burning indignation (53); sometimes excited his profound sorrow (136). He was confronted by laxity if not actual apostasy (113, 158, 126): evil example might have tempted him to disown his faith and cast in his lot with evil-doers (29, 37, 115), but he has successfully resisted the temptation, for he knows God’s estimate of their character (118, 119), and their certain destiny (155). Under these circumstances, however, it is no easy task for him to maintain his constancy. Repeatedly and earnestly he prays for fuller knowledge of the law and for strength to keep it, for relief from persecution, for protection and preservation.

We can thus form a tolerable idea of the circumstances of the Psalmist, or of the class which he represents, for it is probable that he speaks on behalf of others as well as himself, and interweaves their experiences with his own. This representative character of the Psalm explains some phrases which seem to go beyond individual experience, though it is clear on the whole that an individual and not the community is the speaker. At what time he lived it is impossible to say precisely. That it was in the post-exilic period is certain from the tone and language of the Psalm, but in what part of it is doubtful. The beginning at any rate of the conditions described above is to be found in the evils which Ezra and Nehemiah endeavoured to remedy, and against which Malachi protested. (See e.g. Nehemiah 5, 6, 13; Malachi 3:13-15.) There are not a few points of contact in thought and language between their writings and the Psalm. It may have been written about the middle of the fifth century b.c., possibly not till considerably later, but certainly not so late as the Maccabaean age. There are no traces of the struggles of the time when the possession of a copy of the law and the observance of the characteristic rites of Judaism were punishable with death.

Delitzsch infers from Psalm 119:9 ff., Psalm 119:99-100; Psalm 119:141, that the Psalmist was a young man; Ewald from Psalm 119:84-87 that he was advanced in years. Neither inference seems to be justified. More probably he was a man of mature years, who had learned much by experience, but felt that he had still much more to learn.

Hitzig conjectures that he was a prisoner who beguiled the tedium of his imprisonment by the composition of the Psalm, and Delitzsch is inclined to adopt the suggestion. But there is no sufficient ground for such a hypothesis.

It is not likely that the Psalm was deliberately composed “as a vade mecum for Israelite young men.” Doubtless it was well adapted for a compendium of instruction, but it attests itself to be the utterance of heartfelt devotion. Nor again is it a ‘national’ Psalm, in the sense that the Psalmist merges his own personality in that of the community and speaks in its name. Doubtless he speaks for others as well as himself; it is of the essence of inspired poetry to be representative and to possess a catholicity of thought; and often he appropriates the national experience, for to the Israelite membership in the covenant nation was a profound reality; but the Psalm breathes throughout the spirit of the most intense personal conviction, of the most intimate but deeply reverent communion with God.

It will be most convenient to consider once for all the various words for ‘the Law’ which recur so frequently in this Psalm[79], and to note some of its most characteristic phrases.

[79] According to the Massoretic note on Psalm 119:122 one of the ten expressions,—pointing to the ‘ten words’ of the Decalogue,—‘saying,’ ‘word,’ ‘testimony,’ ‘way,’ ‘judgement,’ ‘precept,’ ‘commandment,’ ‘law,’ ‘statute,’ ‘faithfulness’ (according to another reading ‘righteousness’) occurs in every verse except Psalm 119:122 (to which Psalm 119:132 should be added). ‘Faithfulness’ however is an attribute of the law, not a synonym for it: and the word ‘judgements’ does not always mean ‘ordinances.’

Ps 119:1-176.

この有名な詩篇にはいくつかの特徴がある。それは二十二の部または stanza に分けられ、ヘブル語アルファベットの二十二の文字によって示される。各 stanza は八節を含み、各節の最初の文字はその stanza に名を与えるものである。その内容は主として神のことばの賛美、その熟読への勧め、それへの敬意、その適切な影響のための祈り、ならびにそれを軽視する悪者への嘆きである。

(Ps 119:122, 132)

の二節のみが、神のことばのある語あるいは描写を含まない。これらの語はさまざまな派生を持つが、ここでは大部分同義に用いられる。とはいえ、さまざまな語の使用は、啓示された神のことばに対するわれらの関係が提示されるいくつかの側面をより良く表現するために design されたようである。本篇はユダヤ人の教会や国民の特別な機会や利害に何らかの関係を持つようには見えない。むしろ明らかに「敬虔な思いの manual、特に若者を教えるために design された。その特有な人工的構造はおそらく、言葉を保持する記憶を助けるために採用された」。

アレフ。

(Ps 119:1-8)。

1. きずのない者―文字通り「完全な」、perfect、あるいは真摯な（比較せよ、

Ps 37:37)。

の―あるいは「において」。

道―生活の道。

歩む―行動する。

律法において―それに従って（比較せよ、

Lu 1:6)。

律法―「教える」を意味する語から。神のことばの教えを示す、むしろ一般的な趣旨の語。

その道にそむかない者は幸いである――人生の道、すなわち旅路において、宗教の道において、天に至る道において、ということである。人生――宗教的な生――が旅という姿の下に表されているので、ここでの表現は「人生の旅路において――その宗教的な歩みにおいて――純粋で、真摯で、汚されていない者たちは幸いである」と言うのと等しい。「道」という語については、Psalm 1:6 の注解を参照せよ。「そむかない」という語についてのここでの欄外注は「完全、あるいは真摯」である。ヘブル語も同様である。この語は Job 1:1 にある語と同じであり、そこでは「完全」と訳されている。その箇所の注解を参照せよ。ギリシャ語訳は「そむかない」――ἄμωμοι amōmoi――である。ラテン語訳も同様に「immaculati」である。ルターはこれを「傷、あるいは汚れなしに生きる者たち」と訳している。ここでの考えは、「その歩みにおいて正直で、真摯で、完全である者たちは幸いである」ということである。この詩篇全体は、人生のさまざまな状況において、神の律法、すなわち神のことばの原則への真摯で良心に基づいた愛着の影響がどのようなものでなければならないかを示すことによって、この考えを明らかにするように意図されている。

主の律法に歩む者たち――習慣的に神の律法に従う者たち、ということである。これこそが人の生涯における真摯さ、正直さ、完全さを構成する。主の律法こそ、人間の行動の唯一の正しい規則であるからである。