This Psalm is commonly supposed to describe the blessings which flowed from the meeting of the Israelites at Jerusalem at the great religious festivals. Such meetings were a consecration of the whole nation; they diffused a spirit of brotherly harmony throughout it; they sustained and quickened the... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold_&c. The Psalmist seems to have before his eyes some instance of the blessing and the beauty of brotherly concord which prompts his song. May it not have been the enthusiasm of those who volunteered to dwell in Jerusalem, when Nehemiah was restoring its civic and religious organisation (Nehem... [ Continue Reading ]
It is like the goodly oil upon the head descending upon the beard, even Aaron's beard, Which descendeth upon the collar of his garments. Oil was a symbol of joy and festivity (Psalms 45:7), but it is not common oil that is mentioned here. The brotherly concord of the dwellers in Jerusalem is compa... [ Continue Reading ]
Like dew of Hermon, which descendeth _upon the mountains of Zion_ There is no justification for inserting the words _and as the dew,_as in A.V. "The dews of Syrian nights are excessive; on many mornings it looks as if there had been heavy rain" (G. A. Smith, _Hist. Geogr._p. 65); and the dew that fa... [ Continue Reading ]