No More Learning

awful responsibility of shedding human blood,
gradually became the most reckless and callous of
murderers.
David well understood this danger, and all through
his life strove earnestly against it. After he became
a great and powerful king, when Nathan the prophet
rebuked him for a sin he had committed, he com-
posed one of the most beautiful of all his Psalms,
the fifty-first, imploring God's pardon, and the help
of His holy spirit, the spirit of goodness.
The seventh verse ends this part of Psalm xxxii. with
the courage-giving thought that whatever happens,
God's succour is with them that trust in Him.
In the third part of the Psalm the poet (like Dante
and Milton in later ages) imagines that God Him-
self is speaking, and guiding the human mind to
perceive and to pursue the path of goodness. For
the Divine gift to man of the power of understanding
Right and Wrong and of controlling his actions by
that power is well-nigh lost if man needs to be
driven along the right path by outward force like a
horse or a mule.
The fourth and final part (verses 10 and n) is the
climax of the whole poem,--a picture of the perfect
happiness of the soul of all who try their best to do
right.
Psalm xxxii. is a fine example of the construction
of a Hebrew poem. Each verse is divided into two
parts, one of which illustrates or amplifies the other,
and each part of the Psalm has its own thread of
thought, but the whole leads up to and culminates
in the one great comprehensive moral reflection of
the closing verses.
33
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? THE CHILDREN'S PSALM-BOOK
PSALM XXXIII.
Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise
is comely for the upright. 2 Praise the Lord with
harp: sing unto Him with the psaltery and an
instrument of ten strings. 3 Sing unto Him a new
song; play skilfully with a loud noise. 4 For the
word of the Lord is right; and all His works are
done in truth. 5 He loveth righteousness and
judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the
Lord. 6 By the word of the Lord were the
heavens made; and all the host of them by the
breath of His mouth. 7 He gathereth the waters
of the sea together as an heap: He layeth up the
depth in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the
Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in
awe of Him. 9 For He spake, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast. 10 The Lord
bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought:
He maketh the devices of the people of none effect.
11 The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever; the
thoughts of His heart to all generations. 12 Blessed
is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the
people whom He hath chosen for His own inheri-
tance. 13 The Lord looketh from heaven; He
beholdeth all the sons of men. 14 From the place
of His habitation He looketh upon all the inhabi-
tants of the earth. 15 He fashioneth their hearts
alike; He considereth all their works. 16 There is
no king saved by the multitude of an host: a
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? THE CHILDREN'S PSALM-BOOK
XXXIII.
i nSnn nijo on&'b nin*a dws
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WBEJ "pj 17 j 0a-a1a ^"n1p 11a3 Sm
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? THE CHILDREN'S PSALM-BOOK
. XXXIII. mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
17 A horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall
he deliver any by his great strength. 18 Behold
the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear Him,
upon them that hope in His mercy; 19 To deliver
their soul from death, and to keep them alive in
famine. 20 Our soul waiteth for the Lord: He is
our help and our shield. 21 For our heart shall
rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His
holy name. 22 Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon
us, according as we hope in Thee.
mote on The first verse calls on the righteous to rejoice in
? XXXIII. the thought of God.
Rejoicing is a characteristic of the righteous, for
goodness and happiness go together, just as evil is
ever to be found in company with discontentedness
and grumbling.
The Jewish religion is a religion of cheerfulness
begotten by faith in the perfection of the wisdom
and lovingkindness of God (such faith as is breathed
in the fourth and fifth verses of this Psalm) and faith
also in His infinite and universal power.
The twelfth verse finds an echo in the heart of
every Israelite conscious of the God-given heritage of
his people, the task and duty of making known to
the world through all time that God alone is the
Creator and Ruler of the universe and all that is
therein.
For the world and all its wonders are the work of
God, and His work and His laws last for ever by
reason of their unalterable greatness and wisdom.
How different to human work! But if we remember
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? THE CHILDREN'S PSALM-BOOK
rnrv j$ nan i8 :q^0*s x'? i^h riyi nw^Sfw-xxxin.
nSnh nnan uefcj 20 . nyna Dnvn^ d#sj
at L jt ; ? ? ? :~i ~tt[t rr -: at :-
Deb *a uaS nop* tra 21: uaaa^ unw
and always try to obey the laws God has given to us ftote on
(and through Israel to the. whole world), He will XXXIII.
bless us. For God knows the heart of every one of
us:--" He fashioneth their hearts alike, Heconsidereth
all their works," means that He has given to every
human being the power to try to do right, and He
knows all our temptations to do wrong, and all our
efforts to resist them.
Our own bodily strength, or the strength of
soldiers and horses, however strong they may be,
cannot save any one of us; for sorrow and mis-
fortune, disease and death, may come upon us
at all times. Where then is our strength? The
Psalmist answers:--" Behold, the eye of the Lord
is upon them that fear Him, upon them that hope
in His mercy, to deliver their soul from death and
to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waiteth for
the Lord. He is our Help and our Shield. "
The Jewish conception of man's spiritual destiny
--the safety of his soul as opposed to mere bodily
safety--is forcibly told in these verses.
37
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? THE CHILDREN'S PSALM-HOOK
mote on Strength comes to us to face all manner of
. XXXIII dangers and trials if we live our lives with "our
souls waiting for the Lord," always trying to obey
the eternal laws of right and wrong by resisting all
temptation to do what we know is wrong, and ever
striving to do what we know is right.
That is the attitude of mind and conscience that
the Psalmist pictures in verses 18, 19, 20, and 21,--
PSALM XXXIV.
a Ipsalm of Davib wben be feigneo madness before
Hbimelecb, wbo brove btm awag, anb be DeparteD.
I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise
shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul shall
make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear
thereof, and be glad. 3 O magnify the Lord with
me, and let us exalt His name together. 4 I sought
the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from
all my fears. 5 They looked unto Him, and were
lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him,
and saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel
of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear
Him, and delivereth them. 8 O taste and see that
the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth
in Him. 9 O fear the Lord, ye His saints: for
there is no want to them that fear Him. 10 The
young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they
that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.
11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach
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? THE CHILDREN'S PSALM-BOOK
summing up all in the words, "because we have fllote on
trusted in His holy name. " (C)8. XXXIII
When we are in trouble or in danger we gather
courage and comfort from saying this Psalm, and
from praying to God the prayer of the last verse,
"May Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as
we hope in Thee. "
XXXIV. -h
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? THE CHILDREN'S PSALM-BOOK
ps. XXXIV. you the fear of the Lord. 12 What man is he that
desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see
good? 13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips
from speaking guile. 14 Depart from evil, and do
good; seek peace, and pursue it. 15 The eyes of
the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are
open unto their cry. 16 The face of the Lord is
against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance
of them from the earth. 17 They cry, and the Lord
heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken
heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but
the Lord delivereth him out of them all. 20 He
keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.
21 Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate
the righteous shall be condemned. 22 The Lord
redeemeth the soul of His servants: and none of
them that trust in Him shall be condemned.
? Rote on When David wrote this Psalm he was in great
? XXX1V- misery.
He had been unjustly driven away from his
own country, and was a homeless wanderer; and
King Saul, his great enemy, was trying to kill him.
But David did not lose his trust in God. He said,
"I will bless the Lord at all times," and, praying
trustfully to God, he was "delivered from all his
fears," except the fear of God, which brings the
knowledge of Right and Wrong.
David calls on others to learn the fear of God,
as he had learnt it in the time of his trouble, and
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? THE CHILDREN'S PSALM-BOOK
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? to know the true happiness which no human sorrow ^yyiv
can destroy. He saw that the real misery of life *'8, 1
is hating and trying to hurt each other; but that
if we "taste" with our feelings, and "see" with
our mind's eye, we shall understand the goodness
of the Lord, and always trust in Him whatever evil
may happen.
Then comes David's practical advice, which makes
us feel how earnestly he himself had thought and
sought to find the right way to live, till at last he
saw it clearly. "Keep thy tongue from evil," he
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? THE CHILDREN'S PSALM-BOOK
IRote on says--whether the evil be true or not. How often
. XXXIV. quarrels would be avoided if every one did this!
"Keep thy lips from speaking guile. " Take care
that what you say is not only true, but that it
cannot mean anything but the truth. But David
is not content merely to tell us what we should
not do. He does not only say "Depart from evil,"
he adds "and do good. " He knew that the best
way to depart from evil is to set about doing good.
To get rid of bad and wicked feelings, we must
turn all our thoughts to trying to do something
kind and good for some one else. "Seek peace and
pursue it. " It is not enough just to keep from
making others angry; if others are angry we must
try hard to soothe their anger.
Verse 16 says, "The face of the Lord is against
them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of
them from the earth. " The usual translation of
the next verse begins, "The righteous cry," but
the Hebrew means, "they cry. " namely those who
PSALM XXXIX.
Go tbe Cbief Ausictan. % psalm of Davfo.
(A Prayer in Time of Illness or Grief. )
I said, I will guard my ways, that I sin not with
my tongue: I will guard my mouth with a bridle,
while the wicked is before me. 2 I was dumb with
silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my
sorrow was stirred. 3 My heart was hot within
me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake
1 with my tongue, 4 Lqrd, make me to know
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? THE CHILDREN'S PSALM-BOOK
do evil,--" and the Lord heareth and saveth them mote on
out of all their troubles. " David knew well that P8- XXXIV.
none of us are perfect, that we all do wrong at
times; but his complete faith in the gracious mercy
of God made him know also that if we have done
evil and are truly sorry and pray to God, He will
hear us and " save us out of all our troubles. " For
the Lord is nigh to those who are truly sorry and
"broken-hearted" for having done wrong, and
will save those who really try hard to turn from
their evil ways and do better,--or as David puts it,
"such as be of a contrite spirit. "
So David ends his prayer with the comforting
thought that "none of them that trust in the Lord
shall be condemned. "
The argument of the last four verses appeals to
us all in our daily experiences of anxiety and dis-
appointment, and inspires us as it did David with
hope and courage, and with faith to " bless the Lord
at all times. "
xxxix.
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? THE CHILDREN'S PSALM-BOOK
IPs. XXXIX. mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is;
that I may know how frail I am. 5 Behold, thou
hast>made my days as an hand-breadth ; and mine age
is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his
best state is altogether vanity. Selah. 6 Surely
every man walketh in a vain show: surely they are
disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and
knoweth not who shall gather them. 7 And now,
Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me
not the reproach of the foolish. 9 I was dumb, I
opened not my mouth; because Thou didst it.
10 Remove Thy stroke away from me; I am
consumed by the blow of Thine hand. 11 When
Thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity,
Thou makest his beauty to consume away like a
moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah. 12 Hear
my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry; hold
not Thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with
Thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. 13
O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go
hence, and be no more.
mote on In great sorrow, or in great suffering, when
IPs. XXXIX. Death has come very near to us or to those
we love best, this Psalm seems to bring a solemn
peace into our souls like the sound of very lovely
music.
The answering words to the prayer of verse 4
make each of us, young and old alike, feel as a little
44
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? THE CHILDREN'S PSALM-BOOK
I niriss nan 5: on ^in-no r&vk N^n-na *a* n>s. xxxix.
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t ? -;i - * t :-: t: * t ? : 't : 1 ?
-Saa ae'in "nay pte na *a thnfoh* 'hvbi
: ovni. ^n Dpts;? ny^Nl. oaa y? n 13 .
child before God. "And now Lord, what wait I mote on
for? my hope is in Thee. " IP8- XXXIX.
All the difficulties of life seem smoothed away by
pure and absolute trust in our Almighty Father, and
by the overwhelming consciousness that--poor weak
creatures though we all are--yet His Infinite mercy
is ever with us.
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? THE CHILDREN'S PSALM-BOOK
PSALM XLII.
Zo tbe Cbiet Musician, jfor tbe Sons of Ikotab.
As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so
panteth my soul after Thee, O God. 2 My soul
thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I
come and appear before God? 3 My tears have
been my meat day and night, while they continually
say unto me, Where is thy God? 4 When I
remember these things, I pour out my soul in me:
for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them
to the house of God, with the voice of joy and
praise, with a multitude that kept holyday. 5 Why
art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou
disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall
yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.
6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me:
therefore will I remember Thee from the land of
Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.
7 Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of Thy water-
spouts; all Thy waves and Thy billows are gone
over me. 8 Yet the Lord will command His
lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His
song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God
of my life. 9 I will say unto God my rock, Why
hast Thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because
of the oppression of the enemy? 10 As with
a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me;
while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?
11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why
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? THE CHILDREN'S PSALM-BOOK
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