Psalms 4:6

There be many. — Around the fugitive king were many whose courage was not so high, nor their faith so firm, as his. He hears their expressions of despair —

“Talking like this world’s brood.” — MILTON.

It is better to translate the words of these faint-hearted ones by the future, as in Authorised Version; not by the optative, as Ewald and others.

Lift thou up... — This is an echo of the priestly benediction (Numbers 6:24, et seq.), which must so often have inspired the children of Israel with hope and cheerfulness during their desert wanderings — which has breathed peace over so many death-beds in Christian times.

The Hebrew for “lift” is doubly anomalous, and is apparently formed from the usual word “to lift,” with a play upon another word meaning “a banner,” suggesting to the fearful followers of the king that Jehovah’s power was ready to protect him. The Vulg. follows the LXX. in rendering, “The light of thy countenance was made known by a sign over us:” i.e., shone so that we recognised it.