THE FIFTEENTH PSALM

THE fifteenth Psalm is one of the Psalms ascribed to David, and with considerable probability in favor of David's authorship, according to the opinion of many modern critics. Ewald includes it in the list of Psalms which he selected, on internal grounds, as most likely to have been composed by the royal lyrist; and Canon Driver concludes that "if Davidic Psalms are to be preserved in the Psalter, we may say safely that they are to be found among those which Ewald has selected."

Lord, who shall sojourn in thy tabernacle?
Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?

He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness,
And speaketh truth in his heart.

He that slandereth not with his tongue,

Nor doeth evil to his friend,

Nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.

In whose eyes a reprobate is despised;

But he honoureth them that fear the LORD.

He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to usury,

Nor taketh reward against the innocent.

He that doeth these things shall never be moved.

THE BOOK OF PROVERBS

THE Book of Proverbs is plainly made up, as critics have pointed out, of eight distinct parts: The first part, extending from the beginning of chapter i. to the end of ch. ix., is (notwithstanding the introductory words, "The Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel ") a poetical discourse in praise of wisdom. The second part, extending from the beginning of ch. x. to verse 16 of ch. xxii., bears likewise the title, "The Proverbs of Solomon," and this time the title is accurate. The contents are proverbs in the strict sense of the term. The third part, beginning with verse 17 of ch. xxii. and ending with verse 22 of ch. xxiv., is made up of admonitions, described as "words of the wise," which, as remarked by Professor Driver, are "less a collection of individual proverbs than a body of maxims, in which proverbs are interwoven." The fourth part embraces only the remainder of ch. xxiv. from verse 23 to the end, under the title, "These also are sayings of the wise." Part the fifth introduces a new collection, with the title, "These also are Proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, copied out," and these fill chapters xxv. to xxix., both inclusive. The sixth part covers ch. xxx., under the title, "The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh, the oracle." In part seven there are only the first nine verses of ch. xxxi., given as "The words of Lemuel, a king; the oracle which his mother taught him." The eighth and last part, covering the remainder of ch. xxxi., has no title, but is a poem descriptive of a virtuous woman.

Says Professor Driver: "From the very different character of the various collections of which the Book is composed, it is apparent that the Book must have been formed gradually. According to the common opinion, the oldest collection is 10, 1-22, 16, that is, the second part described above. He adds: "At what date this collection was formed

"

cannot be determined with precision; but from the general picture of society which the proverbs seem to reflect, and especially from the manner in which the king is uniformly alluded to, it is generally referred to the golden days of the monarchy: Delitzsch thinks of the reign of Jehoshaphat; Ewald assigns it to the beginning of the eighth century." As to the authorship of the proverbs ascribed to Solomon, the professor holds the most probable view to be that those in part two are "a collection of proverbs by different 'wise men' living under the monarchy, including a nucleus, though we cannot determine its limits or ascribe particular proverbs to it, actually the work of the Wise King (in accordance with the tradition, 1 Kings, 4, 32)." The same remarks, he thinks, will apply to the proverbs in part five of the division described above.

SELECTIONS FROM THE BOOK OF PROVERBS..

I.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge:
But the foolish despise wisdom and instruction.

My son, hear the instruction of thy father,

And forsake not the law of thy mother:

For they shall be a chaplet of grace unto thy head,
And chains about thy neck.

My son, if sinners entice thee,

Consent thou not.

If they say, Come with us,

Let us lay wait for blood,

Let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause;

Let us swallow them up alive as Sheol,

And whole, as those that go down into the pit;

We shall find all precious substance,

We shall fill our houses with spoil;

Thou shalt cast thy lot among us;
We will all have one purse:

My son, walk thou not in the way with them;

Refrain thy foot from their path:

For their feet run to evil,

And they make haste to shed blood.

For in vain is the net spread,

In the eyes of any bird:

And these lay wait for their own blood,

They lurk privily for their own lives.

So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain;
It taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

III.

Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,

And the man that getteth understanding.

For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise

of silver,

And the gain thereof than fine gold.

She is more precious than rubies :

And none of the things thou canst desire are to be com

pared unto her.

Length of days is in her right hand;

In her left hand are riches and honour.

Her ways are ways of pleasantness,

And all her paths are peace.

She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her:
And happy is every one that retaineth her.

Withhold not good from them to whom it is due,
When it is in the power of thine hand to do it.
Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again,
And to-morrow I will give;

When thou hast it by thee.

Devise not evil against thy neighbour,
Seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.
Strive not with a man without cause,
If he have done thee no harm.

For the perverse is an abomination to the LORD;

But his secret is with the upright.

The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked;

But he blesseth the habitation of the righteous.

Surely he scorneth the scorners,

But he giveth grace unto the lowly.

The wise shall inherit glory;

But shame shall be the promotion of fools.

V.

My son, attend unto my wisdom;
Incline thine ear to my understanding:
That thou mayest preserve discretion,
And that thy lips may keep knowledge.
For the lips of a strange woman drop honey,
And her mouth is smoother than oil:
But her latter end is bitter as wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword.

Her feet go down to death;

Her steps take hold on Sheol;

So that she findeth not the level path of life:
Her ways are unstable and she knoweth it not.
Now therefore, my sons, hearken unto me,
And depart not from the words of my mouth.
Remove thy way far from her,

And come not nigh the door of her house.

VI.

My son, if thou art become surety for thy neighbour,
If thou hast stricken thy hands for a stranger,
Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth,
Thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.