6 He has made clear to his people the power of his works, giving them the heritage of the nations.
Give thought now to the days which are past, before your time, from the day when God first gave life to man on the earth, and searching from one end of heaven to the other, see if such a great thing as this has ever been, or if anything like it has been talked of in story. Has any people ever gone on living after hearing the voice of God out of the heart of the fire as you did? Has God ever before taken a nation for himself from out of another nation, by punishments and signs and wonders, by war and by a strong hand and a stretched-out arm and great acts of wonder and fear, as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes? All this he let you see, so that you might be certain that the Lord is God and there is no other. Out of heaven itself his voice came to you, teaching you; and on earth he let you see his great fire; and his words came to your ears out of the heart of the fire. And because of his love for your fathers, he took their seed and made it his, and he himself, present among you, took you out of Egypt by his great power; Driving out before you nations greater and stronger than you, to take you into their land and give it to you for your heritage, as at this day.
So when the people went out from their tents to go over Jordan, the priests who took up the ark of the agreement were in front of the people; And when those who took up the ark came to Jordan, and the feet of the priests who took up the ark were touching the edge of the water (for the waters of Jordan are overflowing all through the time of the grain-cutting), Then the waters flowing down from higher up were stopped and came together in a mass a long way back at Adam, a town near Zarethan; and the waters flowing down to the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were cut off: and the people went across opposite Jericho. And the priests who took up the ark of the agreement of the Lord kept their places, with their feet on dry land in the middle of Jordan, while all Israel went over on dry land, till all the nation had gone over Jordan.
And the sun was at rest and the moon kept its place till the nation had given punishment to their attackers. (Is it not recorded in the book of Jashar?) So the sun kept its place in the middle of the heavens, and was waiting, and did not go down, for the space of a day. And there was no day like that, before it or after it, when the Lord gave ear to the voice of a man; for the Lord was fighting for Israel.
He did great works before the eyes of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan. The sea was cut in two so that they might go through; the waters were massed together on this side and on that. In the daytime he was guiding them in the cloud, and all through the night with a light of fire. The rocks of the waste land were broken by his power, and he gave them drink as out of the deep waters. He made streams come out of the rock; and waters came flowing down like rivers. And they went on sinning against him even more, turning away from the Most High in the waste land; Testing God in their hearts, requesting meat for their desire. They said bitter words against God, saying, Is God able to make ready a table in the waste land? See, the rock was cut open by his power, so that the water came rushing out, and overflowing streams; is he able to give us bread? is he able to get meat for his people? So these things came to the Lord's ears, and he was angry; and a fire was lighted against Jacob, and wrath came up against Israel; Because they had no faith in God, and no hope in his salvation. And he gave orders to the clouds on high, and the doors of heaven were open; And he sent down manna like rain for their food, and gave them the grain of heaven. Man took part in the food of strong ones; he sent them meat in full measure. He sent an east wind from heaven, driving on the south wind by his power. He sent down meat on them like dust, and feathered birds like the sand of the sea, And he let it come down into their resting-place, round about their tents. So they had food and were full; for he gave them their desire; But they were not turned from their desires; and while the food was still in their mouths, The wrath of God came on them, and put to death the fattest of them, and put an end to the young men of Israel. For all this they went on sinning even more, and had no faith in his great wonders. So their days were wasted like a breath, and their years in trouble. When he sent death on them, then they made search for him; turning to him and looking for him with care; In the memory that God was their Rock, and the Most High God their saviour. But their lips were false to him, and their tongues were untrue to him; And their hearts were not right with him, and they did not keep their agreement with him. But he, being full of pity, has forgiveness for sin, and does not put an end to man: frequently turning back his wrath, and not being violently angry. So he kept in mind that they were only flesh; a breath which is quickly gone, and will not come again. How frequently did they go against him in the waste land, and give him cause for grief in the dry places! Again they put God to the test, and gave pain to the Holy One of Israel. They did not keep in mind the work of his hand, or the day when he took them from the power of their haters; How he had done his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan; So that their rivers were turned to blood, and they were not able to get drink from their streams. He sent different sorts of flies among them, poisoning their flesh; and frogs for their destruction. He gave the increase of their fields to worms, the fruits of their industry to the locusts. He sent ice for the destruction of their vines; their trees were damaged by the bitter cold. Ice was rained down on their cattle; thunderstorms sent destruction among the flocks. He sent on them the heat of his wrath, his bitter disgust, letting loose evil angels among them. He let his wrath have its way; he did not keep back their soul from death, but gave their life to disease. He gave to destruction all the first sons of Egypt; the first-fruits of their strength in the tents of Ham; But he took his people out like sheep, guiding them in the waste land like a flock. He took them on safely so that they had no fear; but their haters were covered by the sea. And he was their guide to his holy land, even to the mountain, which his right hand had made his; Driving out nations before them, marking out the line of their heritage, and giving the people of Israel their tents for a resting-place. But they were bitter against the Most High God, testing him, and not keeping his laws; Their hearts were turned back and untrue like their fathers; they were turned to one side like a twisted bow. They made him angry with their high places; moving him to wrath with their images. When this came to God's ears he was very angry, and gave up Israel completely; So that he went away from the holy place in Shiloh, the tent which he had put among men; And he let his strength be taken prisoner, and gave his glory into the hands of his hater. He gave his people up to the sword, and was angry with his heritage. Their young men were burned in the fire; and their virgins were not praised in the bride-song. Their priests were put to death by the sword, and their widows made no weeping for them. Then was the Lord like one awaking from sleep, and like a strong man crying out because of wine. His haters were turned back by his blows and shamed for ever. And he put the tent of Joseph on one side, and took not the tribe of Ephraim; But he took the tribe of Judah for himself, and the mountain of Zion, in which he had pleasure. And he made his holy place like the high heaven, like the earth which is fixed by him for ever. He took David to be his servant, taking him from the place of the flocks; From looking after the sheep which were giving milk, he took him to give food to Jacob his people, and to Israel his heritage. So he gave them food with an upright heart, guiding them by the wisdom of his hands.
He let his signs be seen among the people, and his wonders in the land of Ham. He sent black night and made it dark; and they did not go against his word. At his word their waters were turned to blood, and he sent death on all their fish. Their land was full of frogs, even in the rooms of the king. He gave the word, and there came the dog-fly, and insects over all the land. He gave them ice for rain, and flaming fire in their land. He gave their vines and their fig-trees to destruction, and the trees of their land were broken down. At his word the locusts came, and young locusts more than might be numbered, And put an end to all the plants of their land, taking all the fruit of the earth for food. He put to death the first child of every family in the land, the first-fruits of their strength. He took his people out with silver and gold: there was not one feeble person among them. Egypt was glad when they went; for the fear of them had come down on them. A cloud was stretched over them for a cover; and he sent fire to give light in the night. At the people's request he sent birds, and gave them the bread of heaven for food. His hand made the rock open, and the waters came streaming out; they went down through the dry places like a river. For he kept in mind his holy word, and Abraham, his servant. And he took his people out with joy, the men of his selection with glad cries: And gave them the lands of the nations; and they took the work of the peoples for a heritage; So that they might keep his orders, and be true to his laws. Give praise to the Lord.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 111
Commentary on Psalms 111 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Alphabetical Song in Praise of God
With Psalms 111:1-10 begins a trilogy of Hallelujah-Psalms. It may be appended to Psalms 110:1-7, because it places the “for ever” of Psalms 110:4 in broader light in relation to the history of redemption, by stringing praise upon praise of the deeds of Jahve and of His appointments. It stands in the closest relationship to Psalms 112:1-10. Whilst Psalms 111:1-10, as Hitzig correctly says, celebrates the glory, might, and loving-kindness of Jahve in the circle of the “upright,” Psalms 112:1-10 celebrates the glory flowing therefrom and the happiness of the “upright” themselves, of those who fear Jahve. The two Psalms are twin in form as in contents. They are a mixture of materials taken from older Psalms and gnomical utterances; both are sententious, and both alphabetical. Each consists of twenty-two lines with the twenty-two letters of the alphabet at the beginning,
(Note: Böttcher transposes the verses in Psalms 111:1-10, and in Psalms 112:5 corrects יכלכל into וכלכל ; in the warmth of his critical zeal he runs against the boundary-posts of the letters marking the order, without observing it.)
and every line for the most part consists of three words. Both songs are only chains of acrostic lines without any strophic grouping, and therefore cannot be divided out. The analogous accentuation shows how strong is the impression of the close relationship of this twin pair; and both Psalms also close, in Psalms 111:9 and Psalms 111:10, with two verses of three members, being up to this point divided into verses of two members.
That which the poet purposes doing in Psalms 111:1, he puts into execution from Psalms 111:2 onwards. ועדה , according to Psalms 64:7; Psalms 118:14, is equivalent to ועדתם . According to Psalms 111:10 , הפציהם in Psalms 111:2 apparently signifies those who find pleasure in them (the works of God); but חפצי = חפצי (like שׂמחי , Isaiah 24:7 = שׂמחי ) is less natural than that it should be the construct form of the plural of חפץ , that occurs in three instances, and there was no need for saying that those who make the works of God the object of their research are such as interest themselves in them. We are led to the right meaning by לכל־חפצו in 1 Kings 9:11 in comparison with Isaiah 44:28; Isaiah 46:10, cf. Isaiah 53:10, where חפץ signifies God's purpose in accordance with His counsel: constantly searched into, and therefore a worthy object of research ( דרשׁ , root דר , to seek to know by rubbing, and in general experimentally, cf. Arab. drâ of knowledge empirically acquired) according to all their aims, i.e., in all phases of that which they have in view. In Psalms 111:4 זכר points to the festival which propagates the remembrance of the deeds of God in the Mosaic age; טרף , Psalms 111:5, therefore points to the food provided for the Exodus, and to the Passover meal, together with the feast of unleavened bread, this memorial ( זכּרון , Exodus 12:14) of the exemption in faithfulness to the covenant which was experienced in Egypt. This Psalm, says Luther, looks to me as though it had been composed for the festival of Easter. Even from the time of Theodoret and Augustine the thought of the Eucharist has been connected with Psalms 111:5 in the New Testament mind; and it is not without good reason that Psalms 111:1-10 has become the Psalm of the church at the celebration of the Lord's Supper. In connection with הגּיד one is reminded of the Pesach-Haggada. The deed of redemption which it relates has a power that continues in operation; for to the church of Jahve is assigned the victory not only over the peoples of Canaan, but over the whole world. The power of Jahve's deeds, which He has made known to His people, and which they tell over again among themselves, aims at giving them the inheritance of the peoples. The works of His hands are truth and right, for they are the realization of that which is true and which lasts and verifies itself, and of that which is right, that triumphantly maintains its ground. His ordinances are נאמנים (occasionally pointed נאמנים ), established, attested, in themselves and in their results authorizing a firm confidence in their salutariness (cf. Psalms 19:8). סמוּכים , supported, stayed, viz., not outwardly, but in themselves, therefore imperturbable (cf. סמוּך used of the state of mind, Psalms 112:8; Isaiah 26:3). עשׂוּים , moulded, arranged, viz., on the part of God, “in truth, and upright;” ישׂר is accusative of the predicate (cf. Psalms 119:37), but without its being clear why it is not pointed וישׁר . If we have understood Psalms 111:4-6 correctly, then פּדוּת glances back at the deliverance out of Egypt. Upon this followed the ratification of the covenant on Sinai, which still remains inviolable down to the present time of the poet, and has the holiness and terribleness of the divine Name for a guarantee of its inviolability. The fear of Jahve, this holy and terrible God, is the beginning of wisdom - the motto of the Chokma in Job (Job 28:28) and Proverbs (Proverbs 1:7; Proverbs 9:10), the Books of the Chokma . Psalms 111:10 goes on in this Proverbs-like strain: the fear of God, which manifests itself in obedience, is to those who practise them (the divine precepts, פקודים ) שׂכל טּוב (Proverbs 13:15; Proverbs 3:4, cf. 2 Chronicles 30:22), a fine sagacity, praiseworthy discernment - such a (dutiful) one partakes of everlasting praise. It is true, in glancing back to Psalms 111:3 , תּהלּתו seems to refer to God, but a glance forward to Psalms 112:3 shows that the praise of him who fears God is meant. The old observation therefore holds good: ubi haec ode desinit, sequens incipit (Bakius).