(a) Psalms which contain a definite reference to the king, viz. ii, xviii, xx, xxi, xxviii, xxxiii, xlv, lxi, lxiii, lxxii, ci, cx, presumably belong to the period of the monarchy. The reference of such Psalms as xx, xxi, lxi, lxiii to Judas or Simon, who studiously avoided the title of king, has to be supported by arbitrary and fanciful exegesis, and by setting aside the ordinary meaning of familiar words. That Pss. xlv and lxxii can refer to a non-Israelite king such as Ptolemy Philadelphus is incredible. 'Jehovah's anointed' in xxviii. 8 cannot, in view of the context, be understood of anyone but the king. The reference to a king in xxxiii. 16, 17 might be quite general, but the omission of any reference to a king in cxlvii, which is clearly based upon it, is significant. The one belongs to the age of the monarchy, the other does not.

(b) Pss. xlvi-xlviii, 1xxv, lxxvi may far more naturally be referred to the deliverance of Jerusalem from the Assyrians under Sennacherib in B.C. 701 than "at the earliest, to one of the happier parts of the Persian age." They are full of points of contact in thought and expression with the Assyrian prophecies of Isaiah. "The Jewish Church in Isaiah's time was," it is argued, "far too germinal to have sung these expressions of daring monotheism and impassioned love of the temple; and the word 'Elyon (xlvi. 5; cp. xlvii. 3) as a title for Jehovah never occurs in Isaiah, but frequently in the (probably) later Psalms1." It may well be the case that these Psalms soar far above the average belief of the Israelites of the time, but that is no argument against their having been composed by Isaiah or a poet fired with Isaiah's insight and enthusiasm. They contain nothing in advance of Isaiah's theology; and it should be noted that it is not "impassioned love of the temple" which inspires the writer of xlvi and xlviii, but admiring love for the city, which had been so signally delivered; and the motive of these Psalms is in full accord with Isaiah's teaching concerning the inviolability of Zion. The argument from the use of 'Elyon in Ps. xlvi loses its force when it is observed that it is a poetical word, never used of Jehovah by any of the prophets (see Appendix, Note ii).

1 Cheyne, Origin of the Psalter, p. 164.

An argument from quotations seldom has much weight, for it is often impossible to decide which of two parallel passages is the original, but it seems clear that Lam. ii. 15 combines Ps. xlviii. 2 and Ps. 1. 2, and if so, the quotation supports the pre-exilic date of these Psalms.

(c) Ps. 1 reflects most forcibly the teaching of the great prophetic period, the eighth century, and must be referred to this rather than to any later age.

These are some of the most prominent examples of Psalms which are most naturally and simply assigned to the period of the monarchy; but there are others which may with great probability be referred to the same period, and of those which contain no clear indications of date some at least may be pre-exilic.

But the question still remains to be asked, Can we go further, and carry the origin of the Psalter back to David? It is difficult to believe that the tradition of the Jewish Church was entirely wrong in regarding him as the most eminent religious poet of the nation, and in assigning the foundation of the Psalter to him. That he was a gifted poet is proved by his noble elegy over Saul and Jonathan (2 Sam. i. 19 ff.) and his lament for Abner (2 Sam. iii. 33 f.). Though these poems are not directly religious, they shew that the warrior king was capable of the tenderest feelings. Can these have been the only products of his poetical genius? How came it that David was regarded as "the sweet Psalmist of Israel," and that so many Psalms were ascribed to him or at any rate that the earliest collections of Psalms were called by his name, unless he was really a Psalmist, and some at least of these Psalms were actually written by him1?

His skill as poet and musician, and his interest in the development of religious music, are attested by the earliest records. Later times pointed to him as the founder of the services of the sanctuary3. The leaders of the Return

1 Comp. Riehm, Einleitung in das A. T., ii. 190.

* See I Sam. xvi. 17 ff.; xviii. 10; 2 Sam. i. 17 ff.; iii. 33 ff.; vi. 5,

15; xxii. 1; xxiii. 1 ff.; Amos vi. 5.

3

2 Chr. xxix. 30.

from the Exile believed themselves to be restoring his institutions 1.

But in particular, the incorporation of Ps. xviii in the Book of Samuel as a specimen of David's poetry illustrating his character and genius is evidence in favour of regarding David as the founder of the Psalter, which cannot lightly be set aside. That Psalm is there circumstantially ascribed to David, and there is no sufficient ground for placing the compilation of the Book of Samuel at so late a date that its evidence on this point can be disregarded as a mere tradition which had sprung up in the course of centuries.

But if Ps. xviii must be acknowledged to be the work of David, important consequences follow. For depth of devotion, simplicity of trust, joyousness of gratitude, and confidence of hope, not less than for its natural force and poetic beauty, that Psalm has few rivals. It has all the freshness of creative genius. It can hardly have been the solitary production of its author. If such a Psalm could have been written by David, so might many others; and it is reasonable to inquire with regard to those which bear his name whether they may not actually have been composed by him.

Both poetry and music existed before David's time, and poetry had been carried to a high development in such compositions as Ex. xv and Judg. v. But with David a new era of religious poetry commenced. The personal element entered into it. It became the instrument of the soul's communion with God. David's natural poetic powers were awakened by his training in the schools of the prophets under Samuel. The manifold vicissitudes of his life gave him an unparalleled depth and variety of experience. Chosen by God to be the founder of the kingdom of promise, he must still pass through trials and persecutions and dangers to the throne. When he had reached the zenith of his fame, he fell through pride and self-reliance, and by sharp chastisement must learn the grievousness of sin. But genius and circumstances alone could not have produced the Psalms. In his "last words" he himself declared,

1 Ezra iii. 10; Neh. xii. 24, 36, 46.

• Comp. Delitzsch, The Psalms, Introd. § iii.

"The spirit of Jehovah spake in me,
And his word was upon my tongue."

Unique natural genius, trained and called into action by the discipline of an unique life, must still be quickened and illuminated by the supernal inspiration of the Holy Spirit, before it could strike out the strains, which were to be the pattern and model of religious poetry for all the ages.

It has often been asserted that the David of the Psalms is an entirely different character from the David of history. The devout singer and the rough warrior cannot, it is said1, be the same person. But a great nature is necessarily many sided; and in early ages it is possible that traits of character which to us seem irreconcilable may coexist in the same individual. And the difference is often exaggerated. Not a few of the Psalms illustrate and are illustrated by the history of David's life; and in that history, fragmentary and incomplete as it necessarily is, are to be found abundant traces of the religious side of his character; of the confidence which in the midst of danger and difficulty threw itself unperplexed upon God; of the patience which could await God's time instead of rushing to revenge; of the simple faith which ascribed all success and advancement to God; of the hope which looked trustingly forward into the unknown future, in calm assurance that God would fulfil His promises; last but not least, of the penitence which humbled itself in unfeigned sorrow for sin.

It may have been the case, as Delitzsch supposes3, that the

1 e.g. by Reuss, Hist. of O. T. § 157; Cheyne, Origin of the Psalter, p. 211.

The character of Charles the Great presents an interesting parallel. Charles was "a conqueror, a legislator, a founder of social order, a restorer of religion." Yet "his wars were ferocious, and his policy after conquest unsparing." Though there was much of earnestness and intelligence in his religion, "it was not complete or deep enough to exclude that waywardness and inconsistency of moral principle, and that incapacity to control passion, which belonged to the time.... His court was full of the gross licentiousness of the period, and he was not superior to it himself." Church, Beginning of the Middle Ages, pp. 135 ff. Comp. Bishop Alexander's Witness of the Psalms to Christ, p. 89; Davison's Praises of Israel, p. 45.

3 Introd. § iii.

reigns of Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah were marked by fresh outbursts of Psalm poetry. Under both these kings great national deliverances called for fresh expressions of praise and thanksgiving (2 Ch. xx ; 2 Kings xviii. ff.): Jehoshaphat exerted himself for the religious education of the country (2 Chr. xvii. 7 ff.): the collection of Proverbs, made under the direction of Hezekiah, attests his interest in literature (Prov. xxv. 1).

A few Psalms date from the time of the destruction of Jerusalem and the earlier years of the exile. Some (cp. p. xxxvi) may be from the pen of Jeremiah, who has been credited by some critics with the authorship of a considerable number1.

With the Return from the Exile Psalmody revived. The harp which had been hung up on the willows of Babylon was strung once more. Fresh hymns were written for the services of the restored Temple. Psalms xciii, xcv-c, the lyrical echo of Is. xl-lxvi, form a noble group of anthems composed in all probability for the Dedication of the Temple in B.C. 516. Other Psalms may reflect the circumstances of the age of Ezra and Nehemiah, and the renewed study of the Law in that period bore fruit in the devout meditations of Ps. cxix.

How long did the Psalter still continue to receive further enrichment? The question has been warmly debated in ancient and modern times, whether any of the Psalms belong to the Maccabaean period. Prophecy was silent (1 Macc. iv. 46, &c.); but must not the great revival of national spirit naturally have found expression in poetry? and do not some of the Psalms clearly refer to the circumstances of that period?

Some critics, as has been mentioned already (p. xxxvii), would

This appears to be due partly to the fact that so much of his personal and inner life is known to us from his autobiography; partly to his familiarity with existing literature and his free use of it, which results in numerous parallels between his prophecies and the Psalms.

2 Yet some of the Temple Psalms in the later books of the Psalter may have been revivals or adaptations of ancient hymns. An incidental reference in Jer. xxxiii. II shews that the doxology, "Give thanks to Jehovah of hosts, for Jehovah is good, for his mercy endureth for ever," was the characteristic formula of thanksgiving before the Captivity. Yet it is found only in the later Books (IV and V) of the Psalter (Ps. c. 4, 5; cvi. 1; &c.), in Psalms which are certainly post