<<  PSALM XXXVI.  >>

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of Jehovah.

1. The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart,
There is no fear of God before his eyes.
2. For he flattereth himself in his own eyes,
That his iniquity will not be found out and be hated.
3. The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit:
He hath ceased to be wise and to do good.
4. He deviseth iniquity upon his bed;
He setteth himself in a way that is not good;
He abhorreth not evil.
5. Thy lovingkindness, O Jehovah, is in the heavens;
Thy faithfulness reacheth unto the skies.
6. Thy righteousness is like the mountains of God;
Thy judgments are a great deep:
O Jehovah, thou preservest man and beast.
7. How precious is thy lovingkindness, O God!
And the children of men take refuge under the shadow
of thy wings.
8. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of
thy house;
And thou wilt make them drink of the river of thy
pleasures.
9. For with thee is the fountain of life:
In thy light shall we see light.
10. Oh continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know
thee,
And thy righteousness to the upright in heart.
11. Let not the foot of pride come against me,
And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12. There are the workers of iniquity fallen:
They are thrust down, and shall not be able to rise.

 

1. The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart,
There is no fear of God before his eyes.
2. For he flattereth himself in his own eyes,
That his iniquity will not be found out and be hated.

1-5. Respecting hypocrites, that they think evil. P. P.

2. " Within my heart." See Psalm v. 10. R. 44.

See Psalm v. 10. E. 313.

3. The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit:
He hath ceased to be wise and to do good.
4. He deviseth iniquity upon his bed;
He setteth himself in a way that is not good;
He abhorreth not evil.
5. Thy lovingkindness, O Jehovah, is in the heavens;
Thy faithfulness reacheth unto the skies.

4. See Psalm v. 7. R. 624.

See Jeremiah ix. 4, 5. By the lips and tongue with which they speak a lie and guile is signified the thought with intention of persuading falses against truths, and of seducing, for the lips and tongue signify the same as the mouth. E. 866.

4, 5. See Psalm iv. 4. R. 137.

6. Thy righteousness is like the mountains of God;
Thy judgments are a great deep:
O Jehovah, thou preservest man and beast.
7. How precious is thy lovingkindness, O God!
And the children of men take refuge under the shadow
of thy wings.

6. See Psalm xxv. 10. A. 6180.

They who are in the Lord's spiritual kingdom speak of favor or grace, and they who are in the Lord's celestial kingdom speak of mercy. Mercy is love, and truth is faith. A. 10577.

The Lord in the angelic heaven is a sun, and the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord as a sun presents all the light there. By the air the light of truth is understood, for the air gives light from the sun. The same is signified by the terms clouds, or ethers. Mercy signifies the Divine good of the Divine love, and truth the Divine truth. E. 541.

6, 7, Here both mercy and justice are in like manner of love, and truths and judgments are of faith. A. 2235.
See Psalm xv. 2. A. 9263.

In these passages judgments —righteousness —stands for Divine truth. A. 9857.

Since government from good, such as it is in the Lord's celestial kingdom, is called justice, and government from truth, such as it is in the Lord's spiritual kingdom, is called judgment, therefore in the Word justice and judgment are mentioned where heaven and the church are treated of. By justice is signified celestial good, and by judgment spiritual good, winch is in its essence truth. H. 216.

Justice is predicated of Divine good, wherefore it is compared to the mountains of God, for by mountains of God are signified the goods of love. Judgments are predicated of Divine truths, wherefore they are compared to a great abyss for by it is signified Divine truth. E. 946.
6-10. It ought to be acknowledged that all good and truth is from the Lord. P. P.

7. Man and beast stands for interior and exterior good. A. 7523-

The reason that judgment and justice are mentioned so many times in the Word is that judgment is predicated of truth and justice of good. These repetitions, as of the same thing, are on account of the marriage of good and truth. S. 85.

Heaven and the church, where are love to the Lord and love towards the neighbor, and thus where the Lord is, are signified by mountains and hills. R. 336.

By man and beast together is signified man as to spiritual and natural affection. R. 567.

Justice has relation to the good of truth, and judgment to the truth of good. R. 668.

Since in the Word justice is predicated of love, and judgment of wisdom, therefore some passages shall be adduced to prove that the government of God is effected in the world by means of those two. See Psalm lxxxix. 14, 15: Jeremiah ix. 24: Isaiah xxxiii. 5: Amos v. 24: Psalm lxxii. 2, etc. T. 51.

Because righteousness or justice in the Word is predicated of good, and judgment of truth, it is said that the righteousness of Jehovah is like the great mountains, and His judgments are a great deep. The great mountains signify the good of charity, and the great deep signifies truths in common, which are called truths of faith. E. 405.

By depths are also signified Divine truths in abundance, and the arcana of Divine wisdom. E. 538.
By man and beast is signified the interior affection which is spiritual, whence intelligence is derived, and the exterior affection which is natural, whence comes science corresponding to intelligence. E. 650.

8. See Psalm xvii. 8. A. 8764.

See Psalm xvii. 8. R. 245.

" How excellent — precious — is thy lovingkindness " the holy things of the church are signified by things costly or precious. See Deuteronomy xxxiii. 13-15. R. 789.

See Psalm xvii. 8. E. 283.

8. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of
thy house;
And thou wilt make them drink of the river of thy
pleasures.
9. For with thee is the fountain of life:
In thy light shall we see light.
10. Oh continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know
thee,
And thy righteousness to the upright in heart.
11. Let not the foot of pride come against me,
And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12. There are the workers of iniquity fallen:
They are thrust down, and shall not be able to rise.

8, 9. Fatness evidently stands for good, for it is said in Jeremiah xxxi. 13, 14, that their soul shall be satisfied, and
it is called the good of Jehovah, which is nothing else than the celestial which is from Him. A. 5943.

9. Fat things signify celestial goods and their affections, and the enjoyments of their affections. R. 782.

By the fatness with which the houses shall be filled is signified the good of love and the satisfaction thence derived. Houses stand for things of the mind. By the river of the delights of which they shall drink is signified intelligence and the happiness thence derived. E. n59.

9, 10. Fatness and the fountain of life stand for the celestial, which is love, the river of thy pleasure and light, for the spiritual which is faith from love. A. 353.

By "living fountains of water" — Revelation vii. 17, the Lord and also the Word are signified. By waters truths are signified. By Divine truths of the Word — when they are made of the life which is done when one lives according to them — conjunction with the Lord is effected. By leading them to the living fountains of water is signified to lead by the truths of the Word to conjunction with the Lord. R. 384.

By fatness is signified the good of love, and by the river of pleasures truths from that good. To make them drink means to teach. With thee is the fountain of life signifies that with the Lord and from Him there is Divine truth. Since this is signified by the fountain of life it is therefore added " in thy light shall we see light," for the light of the
Lord is Divine truth. E. 483.

10. See Psalm xxvii. 13. A. 290.
See Psalm xxvii. 13. A. 3623.

The light which is life from the Lord in heaven is there called Divine truth, since it affords light to the minds of those who are there, and hence appears as light before their eyes. E. 186.

Since the Lord is life and every man is a recipient of life from Him, therefore also He teaches that He gives life and vivifies — see John v. 21. Hence also God is called a fountain of life. E. 11 20.

Those who acknowledge the Lord possess all good and truth. P. P.

12. The Lord protects from evil, and the evil perish. P. P.

Author: EMANUEL SWEDENBORG (1688-1772)