inbow spanning a cataract. A
slight error appears to have crept into the Hebrew text, which can be
easily corrected from the parallel verse at the end, and then the quiet
confident words are--

"My strength! upon Thee will I wait,
For God is my fortress!"

The second portion is an intensification of the first; pouring out a
terrible prayer for exemplary retribution on his enemies; asking that no
speedy destruction may befall them, but that God would first of all
"make them reel" by the blow of His might; would then fling them
prostrate; would make their pride and fierce words a net to snare them;
and then, at last, would bring them to nothing in the hot flames of His
wrath--that the world may know that He is king. The picture of the
prowling dogs recurs with deepened scorn and firmer confidence that
they will hunt for their prey in vain.

"And they return at evening; they growl like a dog,
And compass the city.
They--they prowl about for food
If (or, since) they are not satisfied, they spend the night (in the
search.)"

There is almost a smile on his face as he thinks of their hunting about
for him, like hungry hounds snuffing for their meal in the kennels, and
growling now in disappointment--while he is safe beyond their reach. And
the psalm ends with a glad burst of confidence, and a vow of praise very
characteristic on his lips--

"But I--I will sing Thy power,
And shout aloud, in the morning, Thy mercy,
For Thou hast been a fortress for me.
And a refuge in the day of my trouble.
My strength! unto Thee will I harp,
For God is my fortress--the God of my mercy."

Thrice he repeats the vow of praise. His harp was his companion in his
flight, and even in the midst of peril the poet's nature appears which
regards all life as materials for song, and the devout spirit appears
which regards all trial as occasions for praise. He has calmed his own
spirit, as he had done Saul's, by his song, and by prayer has swung
himself clear above fightings and fears. The refrain, which occurs twice
in the psalm, witnesses to the growth of his faith even while he sings.
At first he could only say in patient expectance, "My strength! I will
wait upon thee, for God is my fortress." But at the end his mood is
higher, his soul has caught fire as it revolves, and his last words are
a triumphant amplification of his earlier trust: "My strength! unto thee
will I sing with the harp--for God is my f