home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Bible Heaven
/
Bible Heaven.iso
/
spurgeon
/
ps18.33
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1993-04-19
|
4KB
|
73 lines
EXPOSITION.
The conqueror's feet had been shod by a divine hand, and
the next note must, therefore, refer to them. "_He maketh my feet
like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places_." Pursuing
his foes the warrior had been swift of foot as a young roe, but,
instead of taking pleasure in the legs of a man, he ascribes the
boon of swiftness to the Lord alone. When our thoughts are
nimble, and our spirits rapid, like the chariots of Amminadib,
let us not forget that our best Beloved's hand has given us the
choice favour. Climbing into impregnable fortresses, David had
been preserved from slipping, and made to stand where scarce the
wild goat can find a footing; herein was preserving mercy
manifested. We, too, have had our high places of honour, service,
temptation, and danger, but hitherto we have been kept from
falling. Bring hither the harp, and let us emulate the Psalmist's
joyful thanksgiving; had we fallen, our wailings must have been
terrible; since we have stood, let our gratitude be fervent.
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS.
Verse 33.--"_He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and
setteth me upon my high places_:" that is, he doth give swiftness
and speed to his church; as Augustine interpreteth it,
_transcendendo spinosa, et umbrosa implicamenta hujus saepculi_,
passing lightly through the thorny and shady incumbrances of this
world. "He will make me walk upon my high places." David saith,
"He setteth me upon high places." For, consider David, as he then
was, when he composed this Psalm, it was at the time when God had
delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand
of Saul. For then God set his feet on high places, settling his
kingdom, and establishing him in the place of Saul.--^Edward
Marbury.
Verse 33.--"_He maketh my feet like hinds' feet:"
_ayâlâh regel shâvâh_ <0355> <07272> <07737>. Celerity of motion
was considered as one of the qualities of an ancient hero.
Achilles is celebrated for being _po'sas ô'ku's_. Virgil's Nisus
is hyperbolically described, "_Et ventis et fulminis ocior
alis_;" and the men of God, who came to David, "Men of might, and
men of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and
buckler," are said to have had "faces like the faces of lions,"
and to have been "as swift as the roes upon the mountains.") #1Ch
12:8|. Asahel is described as "light of foot as a wild roe" (#2Sa
2:18|); and Saul seems called the _roe_ (in the English
translation, "the beauty") of Israel. #2Sa 1:19|. It has been
said that the legs of the hind are straighter than those of the
buck, and that _she_ is swifter than _he_ is; but there is no
sufficient proof of this. Gataker gives the true account of it
when he says, "The female formula is often used for the species."
This is not uncommon in Hebrew. The female ass obviously stands
for the ass species. #Ge 12:16; Job 1:3; 42:12|. Some (at the
head of whom is Bochart, _Hierozoicon_, P. i. L. ii. c. 17), have
supposed the reference to be to the peculiar hardness of the hoof
of the roe, which enables it to walk firmly, without danger of
falling, on the roughest and rockiest places. Virgil calls the
hind "_aeri-pedem_," brass-footed. Others suppose the reference
to be to its agility and celerity. There is nothing to prevent
our supposing that there is a reference to both these
distinguishing qualities of the hind's feet.--^John Brown.
Verse 33.--"_He maketh my feet like hinds' feet_," etc.
He maketh me able to stand on the sides of mountains and rocks,
which were anciently used as fastnesses in time of war. The feet
of the sheep, the goat, and the hart are particularly adapted to
standing in such places. Mr. Merrick has here very appositely
cited the following passage from Xenophon; _Lib. de Venatione_:
_episkoêei'n sei' e'chonta ta's ku'nas t'as me'n e'n o'resi
e'otô'sas l'aphous_. See also #Ps 104:18|, where the same
property of standing on the rocks and steep cliffs is attributed
to the wild goat.--^Stephen Street, M.A., in loc., 1790.