--- title: "Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible · Volume 1: Genesis to Jeremiah" author: "Adam Clarke" languages: [en] shelf: "Commentaries" section: 624 of 914 url: https://scriptura.si/works/adam-clarke-commentary-volume-1-genesis-to-jeremiah/624/ cite: "Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible · Volume 1: Genesis to Jeremiah, section 624. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/adam-clarke-commentary-volume-1-genesis-to-jeremiah/624/" --- # Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible · Volume 1: Genesis to Jeremiah *Adam Clarke* Clarke's learned notes on the Hebrew and Greek, verse by verse, from Genesis to Revelation: volume 1 of 2. ## 624. Psalms · 78 of 159 Source: https://scriptura.si/works/adam-clarke-commentary-volume-1-genesis-to-jeremiah/624/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/adam-clarke-commentary-volume-1-genesis-to-jeremiah/624/#p-N ### Verse 3 [¶1] The mountains shall bring peace - Perhaps mountains and hills are here taken in their figurative sense, to signify princes and petty governors; and it is a prediction that all governors of provinces and magistrates should administer equal justice in their several departments and jurisdictions; so that universal peace should be preserved, and the people be every where prosperous; for שלום shalom signifies both peace and prosperity, for without the former the latter never existed. [¶2] But what is the meaning of "the little hills by righteousness?" Why, it has no meaning: and it has none, because it is a false division of the verse. The word בצדקה bitsedakah, in righteousness, at the end of [Psa 72:3], should begin [Psa 72:4], and then the sense will be plain. [Psa 72:3] : "The mountains and the hills shall bring prosperity to the people." [Psa 72:4] : "In righteousness he shall judge the poor of the people: he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor." [¶3] The effects, mentioned in the fourth verse, show that King Solomon should act according to the law of his God; and that all officers, magistrates, and governors, should minister equal rights through every part of the land. The Septuagint has the true division: Αναλαβετω τα ορη ειρηνην τῳ λαῳ σου, και οἱ βουνοι· Εν δικαιοσυνῃ κρινει τους πτωχους του λαου, κ. τ. λ. "The mountains shall bring peace to thy people, and the hills: In righteousness shall he judge the poor of thy people," etc. ### Verse 5 [¶5] They shall fear thee - There is no sense in which this can be spoken of Solomon, nor indeed of any other man: it belongs to Jesus Christ, and to him alone. He is the Prance of peace, who shall be feared and reverenced "through all generations, and as long as the sun and moon endure." ### Verse 6 [¶7] He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass - The word גז gez, which we translate mown grass, more properly means pastured grass or pastured land; for the dew of the night is intended to restore the grass which has been eaten in the course of the day. This very idea the Chaldee has seized, and renders the place thus: "He shall descend gently, like rain upon the grass which has been eaten by the locust." But there seems to be a reference to the thick night dews which in summer fall on the pasturages, and become the means of restoring the grass consumed in the day-time by the cattle. This is finely expressed by the most accomplished of all poets and agriculturists: - [¶8] Et quantum longis carpent armenta diebus, [¶9] Exigua tantum gelidus ros nocte reponet. [¶10] Virg. Geor. ii., ver. 201. "For what the day devours, the nightly dew [¶11] Shall to the morn by pearly drops renew." [¶12] Dryden. [¶13] Or to leave poetry, which always says too much or too little, the plain prose is: - "And as much as the flocks crop in the long days, [¶14] So much shall the cold dew restore in one short night." [¶15] As showers that water the earth - The influence of the doctrine and Spirit of Christ on the soul of man shall be as grateful, as refreshing, and as fructifying, as the nightly dews on the cropped fields, and the vernal showers on the cultivated lands. Without his influence all tillage is vain; without him there can neither be seed nor fruit. ### Verse 7 [¶17] In his days shall the righteous flourish - There was nothing but peace and prosperity all the days of Solomon: for, "In his days Judah and Israel dwelt safely; every man under his vine and under his fig-tree, from Dan even to Beersheba;" [1Kgs 4:25]. [¶18] So long as the moon endureth - עד בלי ירח ad beli yareach, "Till there be no more moon." ### Verse 8 [¶20] He shall have dominion also from sea to sea - The best comment on this, as it refers to Solomon, may be found in [1Kgs 4:21], [1Kgs 4:24] : "And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms, from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt; for he had dominion over all on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river; and he had peace on all sides round about him." [¶21] Solomon, it appears, reigned over all the provinces from the river Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, even to the frontiers of Egypt. The Euphrates was on the east of Solomon's dominions; the Philistines were westward, on the Mediterranean sea; and Egypt was on the south. Solomon had therefore, as tributaries, the kingdoms of Syria, Damascus, Moab, and Ammon, which lay between the Euphrates and the Mediterranean. Thus he appears to have possessed all the land which God covenanted with Abraham to give to his posterity. [¶22] Unto the ends of the earth - Or land, must mean the tract of country along the Mediterranean sea, which was the boundary of the land on that side: but, as the words may refer to Christ, every thing may be taken in its utmost latitude and extent. ### Verse 9 [¶24] They that dwell in the wilderness - The ציים tsiyim, termed Ethiopians by the Vulgate, Septuagint, Ethiopic, and Arabic. The Syriac terms them the islands. But it is likely that those who dwell by the sea-coasts, and support themselves by navigation and fishing, are here intended. [¶25] His enemies shall lick the dust - Shall be so completely subdued, that they shall be reduced to the most abject state of vassalage, till they shall become proselytes to the Jewish faith. ### Verse 10 [¶27] The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shalt bring presents - Though Solomon did not reign over Cilicia, of which Tarsus was the capital, yet he might receive gifts, not in the sense of tribute; for מנחה minchah, the word here used, signifies a gratitude or friendly offering. [¶28] The kings of Sheba and Seba - Both countries of Arabia. From the former came the queen of Sheba, to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And she brought exceeding great presents or gifts, but not in the way of tribute, for Solomon had no jurisdiction in her country. And certainly many sovereigns, to obtain his friendship, sent him various presents of the choicest produce of their respective countries; and no doubt he did with them as with the queen of Sheba, gave them gifts in return. Hence the word אשכר eshcar is used, which signifies "a compensative present, made on account of benefits received." ### Verse 11 [¶30] All kings shall fall down before - They shall reverence him on account of his great wisdom, riches, etc. [¶31] All nations shalt serve him - All the surrounding nations. This and the preceding verses are fully explained by [1Kgs 10:23-25] : "King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom. And all the earth sought unto Solomon to hear his wisdom. And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments and armor, and spices, horses and mules a rate year by year." If we take these expressions to mean literally all the habitable globe, then they cannot be applied to Solomon; but if we take them as they are most evidently used by the sacred writer, then they are literally true. When all the earth shall be brought to receive the Gospel of Christ, then they may be applied to him. ### Verse 12 [¶33] He shall deliver the needy when he crieth - The poor and the rich shall, in the administration of justice, be equally respected; and the strong shall not be permitted to oppress the weak. ### Verse 14 [¶35] From deceit and violence - Because they are poor and uneducated, they are liable to be deceived; and because they are helpless, they are liable to oppression; but his equal justice shall duly consider these cases; and no man shall suffer because he is deceived, though the letter of the law may be against him. [¶36] And precious shall their blood be - If the blood or life of such a person shall have been spilt by the hand of violence, he shall seek it out, and visit it on the murderer, though he were the chief in the land. He shall not be screened, though he were of the blood royal, if he have willfully taken away the life of a man. ### Verse 15 [¶38] To him shall be given of the gold of Sheba - The Arabians shall pay him tribute. [¶39] Prayer also shall be made for him continually - In all conquered countries two things marked the subjection of the people: [¶40] 1. Their money was stamped with the name of the conqueror. [¶41] 2. They were obliged to pray for him in their acts of public worship. [¶42] Daily shall he be praised - He shall not act by the conquered like conquerors in general: he shall treat them with benignity; and shall give them the same laws and privileges as his natural subjects, and therefore "he shall be daily praised." All shall speak well of him. ### Verse 16 [¶44] There shall be a handful of corn - The earth shall be exceedingly fruitful. Even a handful of corn sown on the top of a mountain shall grow up strong and vigorous; and it shall be, in reference to crops in other times as the cedars of Lebanon are to common trees or shrubs: and as the earth will bring forth in handfuls, so the people shall be multiplied who are to consume this great produce. [¶45] And they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth - There have been many puzzling criticisms concerning this verse. What I have given I believe to be the sense.