HOMILIES BY VA.RIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-4:.-God's revelation of man to himself; or, the transgressor' s heart turned inside out. It has been thought by some that this psalm was written about the time when Saul gave his daughter Michal to David with a treacherous design (see Walford, in we.); by others, that it is a general description of some of the wicked men-such as Saul, Absalom, Ahithophel, etc.-with whom David was brought into contact (sec Fausset hereon). But there is no clue in the psalm itself to any such specific his- torical reference. We see a special significance in the title of the psalm, which tells us that it was written by David as a servant of Jehovah, and handed by him to the choirmaster for use in the songs of the sanctuary. We may regard it as a descrip- tion of the heart of the ungodly, written in the piercing light of Divine revelation (see ver. 9), affording us a striking illustration of Heb. iv. 12, showing us that" the Word of God is" indeed "living a11d strong, sharper than any two-bladed sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow," being "a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Vif e find, too, that the Apostle Paul regards the words, "There is no fear of God before his eyes," as a part of the Divine indictment against a sinful race, whether of Jew or of Gentile origin (cf. Rom. iiL 18). Hence the inspection of the human heart, the results of which are here stated, is one that has been carried on under the searching light of Heaven. And a terribly painful discovery it is, to find bow much iniquity God sees hidden in the nooks and corners of the heart. For us to be always carrying on this introspection would be more than we could bear. Yet the wicked may well ho asked to study their own hearts in the light of this description, that they may see how much they need deliverance from their dark and sinful selves; while the believer may well look into this description again and again, that he may see from how much he has been delivered by the grace of God. J. LET US STUDY THIS SEARCHING ISVESTIOATION OF THE BECRETB OF A HUMAN HEART. 1 (Ver. 1.) 1. The heart of an ungodly man has an oracle of its own. The Hebrew word translated "saith" is a nQun, and means "oracle." Some would regard the phrase as elliptical, and as meaning, "The oracle [ of God, concerning] the trans- gression of the wicked in his heart, is," etc. (so Cheyne and Olshausen). But it seems to UB rather a satirical contrast.. 'fhe righteous have their oracle, which is Divine. The wicked have their oracle, even transgression, 'l'he dislike of being governed by another is the governing principle of their lives. "Our tongues are our own: who is lord over us?" (Pss. xii. 14; ii. 3). Hence their "oracle" is dictated, not by loyalt.y, but by rebellion against God. 2. There are terrible negations in the godless man's life. (Ver. 1, "There is no fear of God before his eyes,") '!'here is no desire of the Divine approval, nor dread of the Divine displeasure. It was reserved for the nineteenth century, bowe,er, to develop the most impious forms of this denial of God. There are not wanting novels, snch as George Eliot's and others, which present model characters in social life on the basis of non-theism, and which depict it as a virtue to be without any fear of God whatsoever. This psalm deals with an evil which is by no means 11 tl,ing of the past. It is developed to-day in frightful form, and puts on a guise of virtue to bide its ghastliness. There is a second negation (ver. 4): "He bath left olT to be wise and to do good." The absence of the fear of God will soon be followed by the luss of respect for man, and the deterioration of general intelligence and of social virtue. There is no sustaining impulse for the highest excellence when God ceases to be enthroned in the heart. For a third negation here specified shows clearly enough 1 According to the LXX., Syriae, and Arabic Versions, and Jerome, 'i? should be U~:
i.e. " i. i• hea.rt;' not " m11 heart." PS, XXXVI, 1-12.] THE BOOK OF PSALMS. 279