The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1892-03-31
SUNDAY MEDITATION

A Study of the International Sunday
School Lesson lAppOinted for April
Subject: The Triumph OF the Anointed-the Sue
cess OF the GOod-ths SuryivaI OF the Fittest.
Ps., 2:1-2.
Zone reading these notes should first carefully
study the paragraph from tho Holy Scriptures as
| indicated aboye.i
INTRODUCTION.
| We find $50 Psalms What strikes the reader
| is the fact of the unity of this literature. The
Psalms originated evidently for purpose, and
| experience shows they have been effective.
| Not only n religious sentiment runs through
them, but also National. They center in the
City of Jerusalem with It's Temple.
John Bright once told Hon. w. f. Gladstone
| that in his mind the whole question as to rev.
citation was settled by the Book of Psalms.
Mr. Gladstone, referring to this statement,
| adds: ct was not to him (Bright) conceivable
| how work so widely severed from all the
| known productions of antiquity, and standing
| upon level so much higher, could he accounted
| for except by special and extraordinary aid,
calculated to produce special and extraordinary
results" We are prepared for Mr. Gladstone's
statement chat the Psalms composed for the
devotions of the Hebrews from 1000 to 5000
| years ago constitute down to the present day
! for Christians the best and highest book of de-
| votiOn."
The hold of the Psalms is not duo only to the
| fact that they are inspired, but they are the
product of most real, interesting intense ex-
| he
wrought upon by the feelings of pity, sym
| pathy, need, faith, when said feelings were at
most exalted pitChcS when the writers souls
| were all astir; when most devout moods alb
sorbed them. The Psalms are the language of
| the soul in the deepest dstresses Of mind and
| body As they comforted when written, so they
| will forever bring consolation, and strength
and cheer to mortals in their EXTREMIST hours
| Till we change in our constitutions, till our
environments become completely modified, the
! Psalms will match our experiences. They are
not simply Hebrewish, but cosmopolitan; not
National, but for the world at large. While all
| this is so, we can lay down the principle that
experience is the best commentary on the
| Psaiter. The biographies of sainted men and
women show what hold the Psalms have had on
humanity. Nearly all refer to the comfort
they got from that poetic book of the Bible
| For example, Bishop Harrington, on the day
before his death, wrote in his journal. suffering
from fever. in vermined hut, 81 am quite
| broken down and brought low. Comforted by
reading Psalm 81" The record in the evening
was, Much comforted by Psalm g." The fol-
! lowing entry occurs On the day which wit
messed his being put to death, :" can hear no
news, but was held up by Psalm 30, which
| came with great power"
| Edward Irving 1192- 1884 was dying. He
was a minister of the Scotch Church, which
makes liberal use Of the Psalms Mas5ing what
strength be possessed, he chanted in the He
brew the 23d Psalm.
| On the brow of a hill at Cape Beechey is
grove endlessly covered with snow. 1t con-
tains the body Of one of the Mares Expedition.
! Over the grave large stone was laid, having
on it copper tablet in which is inscribed
words from the seventh of the 51st
| Psalm" Wash me and shall be winter than
SNOW" Nowhere earth is snow purer,
whittier, than so near the northern pole. This
fact gives beautiful significance to the epitaph.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PSALM 2.
/. Preliminary.
Tho second Psalm like the frst and a number
of other Psalms, is without any title. It's con-
tents give positive clue to its authorship,
nor to the circumstances historical which in
spired its composition. DIR. A. Barnes says,
"The Psalm in its construction is one Of the
most perfect in the book (Psalms), according
to the peculiar ideal Of Hebrew poetry"
The second is one of the Messianic Psalms.
The rest arc Psalms %. 80, So SO, SO. These
are called Messianic because they directly or
by inference point so clearly to the advent
and work of Christ. We arc reminded in this
| respect of lisa. SO. The Jews used to quote this
Psalm as prophecy Of the coming of the Mes
siaii until Christians taught that it was di-
rect pred lotion Of Chrsts advent fully realized
at Bethlehem. They changed their expana-
ton. as one Of their Rabbis declares " that we
may be able to answer the heretic5." They use
it historically. Compare "anointed ". q
with "anointed David" e Sa., 5 ~ We
can all see much in the Psalm paralleled in the
life of Jesus No wonder Christians have no.
ticed this, and have conceived the idea tho
writer of Psalm number two had the Messiah
in mind.
To whom does the Psalm apply? Some say
to David exclusively; others to the Messiah
only; others to David primarily and to Christ
by double sense. This question is not one of
authorship. Suppose David wrote it; did he
refer to his own experiences? or did he have
in mind only the reign of the Messiah or did
his own experience picture to his mind the
checkered career marked out by prophecy for
the Messiah?
g. Outline.
We can best divide the IL verses into four
parts of three verses each:
l. Verses to 3, the heather opposition.
q Verses TO 6, Gods attitude.
3. Verses to 9, the Messiah position.
d. Verses 10 to r. the Psalmist's advice.
We thus get four thoughts:
l. Vain rebellion and conspiracy.
g Rebellion derided and crushed
3. The Messiah's victory and Justification.
A. The lessons taught
Those who hold that the Psalm relates only
to David can substitute him for the Messiah in
the third division. Those who hold to double
sense can first consider the Psalm with the
name of David in the third division, and after
ward the name Messiah. The Psalm is singu-
larry yiedable to such treatment and suggests
to the student how natural it was that the idea
Of double meaning" should attach to some
statements in the Old Testament The omis-
sion in tho Psalm of personal illusions, historic
statements, synchronous events. etc, has led
many to think David had in mind exclusively
the reign of the Messiah. AS a rule. however,
we may say that the Psalm is considered by
students as referring first of all to David, and
then by association or suggestion of ideas to
Him of whom David was in many respects
type.
3.@Aaallysis
!. Data. Ps.. 9 LIP.
g Time. b. G. 1917, or A. NJ. 1857.
Dlaca Taruroipfn2