The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1900-05-06

the Philstine harper into their reading Of The
poetry OF the old testament they will hnd |
that II Is justified In almost all the important
poems. Sooner OF. later the singer or the
OF powers, the Life OF lives or the King OF
kings. And he is writing or singing because
be wants to do this thing. 1t is not as Lord
somerville wrote poem upon hunting; it is
not as thomson wrote q poem upon the sea-
sonsl II Is not as Bryan wrote the poem OF
Mazeppa--in each case because they wanted to
describe certain actions or movements OF men.
mind the living God and that he wanted TO
make those who heard or read fell that Gin
Him We live and move and have our being"
~
| The great German poet, Herder more than
a hundred years ago wrote some very valuable
essays on Hebrew poetry, which have a great
interest for persons who really want to read
the old testament in the spirit OF those who
wrote it and with an understanding OF the
customs OF the time in which it was written
and the people for whom it was written
| This book. Will say In passing, would be
| OF great value for people who are conducting
Sunday classes in church and trying to inter
est young people in the books of the old
| testament
Herder says again and again in the course
OF these essays that whoever wants really to
get at the life and movement of the poetical
books OF the Hebrews had better study the
book OF Psalms first. Make that the center Of
sayg that the historical psalms, written per-
haps long after the events referred to, are
the interpreters of the historical books. For
| instance, a person understands the narrative
OF the crossing OF the Red sea better after he
has acquainted himself with the triumphant
! songs in which hundreds of years after the
lsraelites thanked Cor for His goodness on
the occasions there described.
~
Remember. then, that the book OF Psalms
as we have it. consists of five different col
lections of Psalms. made at different times.
aud probably by different people 1t is
the same as when in an old church you some
times find a hymn book which contains the
Psalms of David as translated by DR.. Watts
together with collection of hymns made
nv one minister and another collection of
hymns made by another. OF these five sub
divisions the first ends with Psalm Al. the
second with Psalm r. the third ends with
the S9th and the fourth with the 106th Psalm
But the first two can not be said to be the
Oldest for some pieces are found among them
which belong to the period of the Captivity.
The collection of the whole was probably
made as late as the Second century before
1 Christ. Every one of these collections has
, some Psalms of David; and the Psalms Of
; David, more than those of any other writer.
give the character to the book. Names OF
/, authors given at the beginning of the Psalms
are not to be- considered very important But
in some instances which interest us most
these names NAV be regarded as the names
of the real authors. For instance. the Goth
Z Psalm NAV be regarded as really by Moses.
I though some eminent critics have tried to
show that it was composed in the period OF
Y the Captivity.
!. If now the reader, trying to acquaint him
> self with the Hebrew poetry. will for him
q self divide the Psalms of David. the shep-
g herd from the Psalms written afterward by
David the king he will begin to get some
idea of what has been meant when we have
c spoken of the relation OF poem to IN
. circumstances of its composition Take suci
S a Psalm as that beautiful l3Sd which de
V scribes the friendship between Hermon au'
II Zion. The shepherd poet is on some emf
). hence. probably at, the east Of the Jorean
u where he can see the clouds gathering abov
lie the forests of Hermon. and can see then
y pass south over the plain of Esdrael and Sc
e them distll in the rain over the rocks
n Zion Seeing this as David the sheph ~
II may have seen it, he writes the lines whic
IS most of us remember;
lie 1T is the dew of Hermon.
h That someth down upon the mountains
r For there the Lord commanded the blessing
Of Even life for evermore'
On the other hand after David is kini
Or after he has obtained the mastery 90 W ~
RS tribes which infested Israel Win lhelr IL
ID roads, he will sing statesman song
Ut He maketh wars to cease unto the END
le the earth; - 100.
-, He breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spes
w in sunder;
he He burneth the chariot in the fire.
lie And when he praises God, it is not no
because He has lied us as goats over Il
mountains" or strengthened our hands
thai they break an iron bow, but peeau'
cod is king over all the eerth'
:, n would also be a good exercise earelul
~ to read the life Of David in the historic
f.. hooks where YOU will find more than Oh
W. instance where his poetry Is introduces %
:, the very place where the ODE OF the pug
n. was composed
gh But Won NAV go further than TINS ~
NAV read so carefully in the history on u
no one side and in the book of Psalms on u
o. other that you will form for yourselves .
en- impression as to the place where ih9st " "
h. ably certain psalm belongs. u mas ne pn
il. proposed, indeed that for one Oh our ~ =
IRIS fish oratorios this connection between =
ly, history and the poetry should be tIas :
an along and followed out In the hpresto
of .he performance. The songs wouio iui', ~
In ths specially lyric part OF the oratorio. d
les thA framework from history would give
rse ditional interest to the poems as theS ~
nd nroduced one by one. There Is a composI.., y,
led NOT so we'll known as 1t was hall d s9esu
d. ago nv the composer NeuKomn, WY ~, ,
hosed in a manner upon this laea na.
ing fnII working out OF oratorio is iei'
ler some great American cmposer'