I. THE STRONG APPEAL (1). Desired Response from Jehovah. II. THE SINFUL ALLIANCE (2-8). 1. Confederation of Enemies (2-3). Their Expedition. "For." 2. Contemplation of Enemies (4). Words quoted. 3. Confederation of Enemies (5-8). Their Enumeration. "For." Sela. III. THE STERN AVENGEMENT (9-15). 1. Confusion of Enemies (9-11 ). Comparisons with History. 2. Contemplation of Enemies (12). Words quoted. 3. Confusion of Enemies (13-15). Comparisons with Nature. IV. THE SACRED AIM (1b18). Desired Recognition of Jehovah. SUPERSCRIPT.-A Song; Psalm of (or, for) Asaph. SUBSCRIPT.--"For the Chief Musician; upon Gittith ( = winepresses). PRIMARY AssocIATION.-This is the last of the Asaphic psahns. We cannot be positive as to writer and occasion, but there are strong coincidences between the words of the psahn and events recorded in 2 Chron. xx., where, perhaps, the answer is seen to the prayer. However, Asaph was a prophet, and like Isaiah and others, may have foreseen things which were fulfilled in the days of kings later than David, so that we should not hastily assume that the title is misleading, lxxiii. note. The subscript indicates that it was intended for use at the autumn Festival of Tabernacles. PROPHETIC ANTICIPATION.-AwailS a further fulfilment in the last days. The ten-kingdom confederacy here portrayed, adumbrates a final and similar gathering against Jerusalem on the part of neigh;. bourjp.g states, the old enemies of Israel. This allied assault seems to be organised after the destruction of the Beast and False Prophet, leaders of more distant foes. This prayer enshrines a confident prediction. PERSONAL APPLJCATION.-God can be attacked only through His people (2). Safe is the shelter where God ,secretes His saints (3). God's peoplÁ. ate ever surrounded by foes (5), c£ Eph. vi. 12. A _ common enmity makes close amity. A conunon cause collects curious company (5), c£ Luke xxiii. 12. Consent may be spoken or silent, a look may convey loyalty or disloyalty. Exaltation of God's
nan1e is ever a worthy ai.tn (18). Eneniies of God and His people have but one alternative, either conversion or confusion for ever (16-17). Repeated victories may be the. experience of every one of God's people (9-n). The believer has ever fresh foes to conquer. Hatred is a potent c;:ement (3 ; c£ Luke xxiii. 12), but so also is love, Eph. iv. 16. VERSE NOTES 1. "God" = El. God has only to speak the word and all enemy plans are defeated. 2. The plot to destroy the nation is a plot to frustrate Jehovah's purposes and to end His worship. 3. "hidden ones," c£ xxvii. 5. 5 ff. Note the tenfold confederacy followed by the sevenfold (complete) destruction (10-12). A glance at the map will show Israel to be surrounded by these enemies. 7. "Gebal" does not seem to be the place mentioned Ezlc. xxvii. 9, but the northern part of the mountains of Edom, east of the Dead Sea, and known anciently as Gebalene. 8. The mention. of Assyria as only an auxiliary of Moab and Edom suggests a date for the psalm before Assyria became a great power; (b) cf marg.; Isa. xxxiii. 2. Moab and Ammon (type of the flesh) are singled out as the leaders; "children of Lot" = a term of opprobrium, in light of Gen. xix. 30-38. 9. See Judges iv.-v. This was regarded as 3: typical triumph, c£ Isa. ix. 4; x. 26. Like Jehoshaphat's enemies, they destroyed one another, 2 Chron. xx. 20-23; "river" = torrent. IO. ( b) Contemptuous expression for the fate of unburied corpses; omit "as"; th" d ear = groun . II. (a) Midianite generals; "Oreb"= raven; "Zeeb';= wolf; (b) the Midianite kings; see Judges vii. 25; viii. 12. 12. "Who have said," i.e. the present enemies of Israel not tht! Midianites; "habitations" see margin; "possession," = inheritance, 2 Chron. xx. II. 13. (a) Heb. "as a rolling thing," prob. "refers to the feather-light globular heads of the wild artichoke, which in autumn break off from the parent stem and in thousands scud over the plains rolling, leaping and bounding along" (Thomson's "Land and the Book"); (b) "stubble" i.e. dry, light broken straw and husks of grain whirled away from the threshing floors. 14. (b) Peasants set light to the luxuriant growth of thorns and briers before the rains come, in ƽrder to prepare the ground for thƾ plough. Whole mountain sides are often seen m a blaze; c£ Isa. x. 16-19; Jer. xxi. 14. 16. i.e. disgraced by defeat and disappointed by failure of plans. 18. Zeal for the honour of Jehovah; c£ 2 Chron. xx. 6.
Book Three. II. Realization of the Divine Holiness: lxxxiv.-lxxxix. I. Acclaimed in 'Israel's Restoration, lxxxiv.--1.xxxv.
This book has 150 chapters