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poetry: the epic3, the lyric4, and the dramatic. The Psalms are rightly called lyrics5 because they are chiefly concerned with the immediate6 and imaginative expression of real feeling. It is the personal and emotional note that predominates. They are inward, confessional, intense; outpourings of the quickened spirit; self-revelations of the heart. It is for this reason that we should never separate them in our thought from the actual human life out of which they sprung. We must feel the warm pulse of humanity in them in order to comprehend their meaning and immortal8 worth. So far as we can connect them with the actual experience of men, this will help us to appreciate their reality and power. The effort to do this will make plain to us some other things which it is important to remember.
We shall see at once that the book does not come from a single writer, but from many authors and ages. It represents the heart of man in communion with God through a thousand years of history, from Moses to Nehemiah, perhaps even to the time of the Maccabean revival9. It is, therefore, something
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very much larger and better than an individual book.
It is the golden treasury10 of lyrics gathered from the life of the Hebrew people, the hymn11-book of the Jews. And this gives to it a singular and precious quality of brotherhood12. The fault, or at least the danger, of modern lyrical poetry is that it is too solitary13 and separate in its tone. It tends towards exclusiveness, over-refinement, morbid14 sentiment. Many Christian15 hymns16 suffer from this defect. But the Psalms breathe a spirit of human fellowship even when they are most intensely personal. The poet rejoices or mourns in solitude17, it may be, but he is not alone in spirit. He is one of the people. He is conscious always of the ties that bind18 him to his brother men. Compare the intense selfishness of the modern hymn:
I can but perish if I go;
I am resolved to try;
For if I stay away, I know
I shall forever die;
with the generous penitence19 of the Fifty-first Psalm2:
Then will I teach transgressors thy way;
And sinners shall be converted unto thee.
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It is important to observe that there are several different kinds of lyrics among the Psalms. Some of them are simple and natural outpourings of a single feeling, like A Shepherd’s Song about His Shepherd, the incomparable Twenty-third Psalm.
This little poem is a perfect melody. It would be impossible to express a pure, unmixed emotion—the feeling of joy in the Divine Goodness—more simply, with a more penetrating20 lyrical charm. The “valley of the death-shadow,” the “enemies” in whose presence the table is spread, are but dimly suggested in the background. The atmosphere of the psalm is clear and bright. The singing shepherd walks in light. The whole world is the House of the Lord, and life is altogether gladness.
How different is the tone, the quality, of the One Hundred and Nineteenth Psalm! This is not a melody, but a harmony; not a song, but an ode. The ode has been defined as “a strain of exalted21 and enthusiastic lyrical verse, directed to a fixed22 purpose and dealing23 progressively with one dignified24 theme.”[7] This definition precisely25 fits the One Hundred and Nineteenth Psalm.
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Its theme is The Eternal Word. Every verse in the poem, except one, contains some name or description of the law, commandments, testimonies26, precepts27, statutes28, or judgments29 of Jehovah. Its enthusiasm for the Divine Righteousness never fails from beginning to end. Its fixed purpose is to kindle30 in other hearts the flame of devotion to the one Holy Law. It closes with a touch of magnificent pathos—a confession7 of personal failure and an assertion of spiritual loyalty31:
I have gone astray like a lost sheep:
Seek thy servant:
For I do not forget thy commandments.
The Fifteenth Psalm I should call a short didactic lyric. Its title is The Good Citizen. It begins with a question:
Lord, who shall abide32 in thy tabernacle?
Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
This question is answered by the description of a man whose character corresponds to the law of God. First there is a positive sketch33 in three broad lines:
He that walketh uprightly,
And worketh righteousness,
And speaketh truth in his heart.
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Then comes a negative characterization in a finely touched triplet:
He that backbiteth not with his tongue,
Nor doeth evil to his neighbor,
Nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor.
This is followed by a couplet containing a strong contrast:
In whose eyes a vile34 person is contemned35:
But he honoureth them that fear the Lord.
Then the description goes back to the negative style again and three more touches are added to the picture:
He that sweareth to his own hurt and changeth not,
He that putteth not out his money to usury36,
Nor taketh reward against the innocent.
The poem closes with a single vigourous line, summing up the character of the good citizen and answering the question of the first verse with a new emphasis of security and permanence:
He that doeth these things shall never be moved.
The Seventy-eighth, One Hundred and Fifth, and One Hundred and Sixth Psalms are lyrical
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ballads. They tell the story of Israel in Egypt, and in the Wilderness37, and in Canaan, with swift, stirring phrases, and with splendid flashes of imagery. Take this passage from the Seventy-eighth Psalm as an example:
He clave the rocks in the wilderness,
And gave them drink out of the great depths.
He brought streams also out of the rock,
And caused waters to run down like rivers.
And they sinned yet more against him,
Provoking the Most High in the wilderness.
They tempted38 God in their hearts,
Asking meat for their lust39.
Yea, they spake against God:
They said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?
Behold40, he smote41 the rock that the waters gushed42 out,
And the streams overflowed43;
Can he give bread also?
Can he provide flesh for his people?
Therefore the Lord heard and was wroth:
So a fire was kindled44 against Jacob,
And anger also came up against Israel:
Because they believed not in God,
And trusted not in his salvation45:
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Though he had commanded the clouds from above,
And opened the doors of heaven,
And had rained down manna upon them to eat,
And had given them of the corn of heaven,
Man did eat angel’s food:
He sent them meat to the full.
He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven,
And by his power he brought in the south wind.
He rained flesh also upon them as dust,
And feathered fowls46 like as the sand of the sea.
And he let it fall in the midst of their camp,
Round about their habitations;
So they did eat and were filled,
For he gave them their own desire.
They were not estranged47 from their lust:
But while the meat was yet in their mouths,
The wrath48 of God came upon them, and slew49 the fattest of them,
And smote down the chosen men of Israel.
The Forty-fifth Psalm is a Marriage Ode: the Hebrew title calls it a Love Song. It bears all the marks of having been composed for some royal wedding-feast in Jerusalem.
There are many nature lyrics among the Psalms. The Twenty-ninth is notable for its rugged50 realism. It is a Song of Thunder.
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The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars51:
Yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon:
He maketh them also to skip like a calf52:
Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn53.
The One Hundred and Fourth, on the contrary, is full of calm sublimity54 and meditative55 grandeur56.
O, Lord, my God, thou art very great:
Thou art clothed with honour and majesty57:
Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment;
Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain.
The Nineteenth is famous for its splendid comparison between “the starry58 heavens and the moral law.”
I think that we may find also some dramatic lyrics among the Psalms—poems composed to express the feelings of an historic person, like David or Solomon, in certain well-known and striking experiences of his life. That a later writer should thus embody59 and express the truth dramatically through the personality of some great hero of the past, involves no falsehood. It is a mode of utterance60 which has been common to the literature of
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all lands and of all ages. Such a method of composition would certainly be no hindrance61 to the spirit of inspiration. The Thirty-first Psalm, for instance, is ascribed by the title to David. But there is strong reason, in the phraseology and in the spirit of the poem, to believe that it was written by the Prophet Jeremiah.
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psalms
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| n.赞美诗( psalm的名词复数 )；圣诗；圣歌；(中的) | |
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psalm
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| n.赞美诗，圣诗 | |
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epic
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| n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的 | |
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lyric
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| n.抒情诗，歌词；adj.抒情的 | |
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lyrics
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| n.歌词 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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revival
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| n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振 | |
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treasury
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| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
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hymn
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌 | |
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brotherhood
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| n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊 | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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morbid
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| adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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hymns
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌( hymn的名词复数 ) | |
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solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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penitence
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| n.忏悔，赎罪；悔过 | |
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penetrating
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| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
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exalted
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| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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testimonies
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| （法庭上证人的）证词( testimony的名词复数 )； 证明，证据 | |
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precepts
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| n.规诫，戒律，箴言( precept的名词复数 ) | |
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statutes
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| 成文法( statute的名词复数 )； 法令； 法规； 章程 | |
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judgments
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| 判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判 | |
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kindle
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| v.点燃，着火 | |
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loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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abide
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| vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受 | |
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sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
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vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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contemned
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| v.侮辱，蔑视( contemn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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usury
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| n.高利贷 | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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lust
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| n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望 | |
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behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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gushed
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| v.喷，涌( gush的过去式和过去分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话 | |
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overflowed
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| 溢出的 | |
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kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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45
salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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fowls
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| 鸟( fowl的名词复数 )； 禽肉； 既不是这； 非驴非马 | |
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estranged
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| adj.疏远的，分离的 | |
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wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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slew
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| v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多 | |
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rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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cedars
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| 雪松，西洋杉( cedar的名词复数 ) | |
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calf
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| n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮 | |
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unicorn
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| n.(传说中的)独角兽 | |
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sublimity
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| 崇高，庄严，气质高尚 | |
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meditative
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| adj.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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starry
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| adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的 | |
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embody
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| vt.具体表达，使具体化；包含，收录 | |
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utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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hindrance
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| n.妨碍，障碍 | |
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